Little Dorothea Dix was born on a cold morning in 1802.

She was good, but her father wasn't. He rarely had time for her, and when he did, it was always just to make her help him with his tracts.

So her grandma whisked her away to live with her in Boston, where she was happy.

Dorothea began teaching at age 14, and soon enough, she opened a school of her own at age 21.

She even opened a school for poor girls who couldn't pay for school.

*GASP*

One of the places she taught was at East Cambridge Jail and was appalled at the treatment of prisoners there, especially if

the prisoner was mentally ill. She flew to court and demanded that these prisoners be cared for.

But she didn't stop there. Dorothea reformed many of the hospitals for the mentally ill across all of Massachusetts.

Dorothea didn't try and get people to go her way, she tried the peaceful route, always. She believed that everyone was equal and that the only people to judge were people who were cruel.

She spent many long hours in the courtroom, mostly for the people's right. She was a strong advocate for equality for all and fought tooth and pen within the walls of the court.

When the Civil War struck, Dorothea served as the superintendent of all the nurses. She did a lot of good work as a nurse.