Dorothea Dix Biography, Age, Weight, Height, Friend, Like, Affairs, Favourite, Birthdate & Other

Dorothea Dix was an American teacher and social activist who dedicated her life to secure the right to a dignified life for the insane. During her time the insane were treated in the most undignified and cruel way, often confined to prisons and beaten to make them obey orders. Their emotional needs were ignored and they were regarded as lesser living beings who were not accorded even the basic amenities to live.

Dix was one of the first people who lobbied for their rights and played an instrumental role in getting mental asylums established all over the U.S. She also traveled to other countries to fight for this cause and worked hard to make the government and society realize the importance of treating the insane humanely. As a child she grew up in a dysfunctional family with an emotionally absent mother and an abusive father.

Thus she developed sensitivity to the hardships others suffered as she herself had been subjected to much abuse as a little girl. She became a teacher and while teaching the inmates at a local jail she became aware of the cruelties inflicted upon the insane. From then on, ensuring the welfare of the mentally unstable became her life’s aim.