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Dix, Dorothea Lynde, 1794-1887

Philanthropist; born in Worcester, Mass., about 1794. After her father's death she supported herself by teaching a school for young girls in Boston. Becoming interested in the welfare of the convicts in the State prison at Charlestown, her philanthropic spirit expanded and embraced all of the unfortunate and suffering classes. Having inherited from a relative property sufficient to render her independent, she went to Europe for her health. Returning to Boston in 1837, she devoted her life to the investigation and alleviation of the condition of paupers, lunatics, and prisoners, encouraged by her friend and pastor, Dr. Channing. In this work she visited every State in the Union east of the Rocky Mountains, endeavoring to persuade legislatures to aid the unfortunate, and was instrumental in bringing about the foundation of several State asylums for the insane. At the breaking out of the Civil War she was appointed superintendent of hospital nurses, and after the close of the war she resumed her efforts in behalf of the insane. She died in Trenton, N. J., July 19, 1887.

Harper and Brothers Publishers. . New York. 1902.

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