The fourth in a series of six episodes on important women in American history presented by historian Gerda Lerner. "Dorothea Dix (1802-1887) played an instrumental role in the founding or expansion of more than 30 hospitals for the treatment of the mentally ill. She was a leading figure in those national and international movements that challenged the idea that people with mental disturbances could not be cured or helped." (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470530/ [1]) [1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470530/.