Born in Hampden, Maine in 1802, DOROTHEA DIX established her own school for young children at the age of 14 and continued to teach into her twenties. Dix is best remembered, though, as a social and political activist whose work on behalf of the mentally ill precipitated major prison reform beginning in the 1840's. At a time when women were thought incapable of public speaking, Dix addressed major legislative bodies to inform the public of her research. Her documentation of the deplorable prison conditions across the country and overseas, led to the establishment of many new mental institutions. During the Civil War, Dix was appointed as the first Superintendent of United States Army Nurses.