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Dorothy Dix

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The Resume

    (November 18, 1861-December 16, 1951)
    Born on a plantation bordering Montgomery County, Tennessee and Todd County, Kentucky
    Birth name was Elizabeth Meriwether
    Married name was Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer
    Pseudonym comes from Dorothy Dixer, an Australian political term meaning someone who asks an easily-answered question
    Syndicated newspaper advice columnist (1923-51)
    Wrote the books 'Hearts A La Mode' (1915), 'My Trip Around the World' (1924) and 'Dorothy Dix - Her Book' (1926)
    Died of natural causes and interred in the Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans

Why she might be annoying:

    Her parents were slave owners.
    She was the precursor for nosy advice columnists to come, such as Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren.
    Her nickname was 'Mother Confessor to Millions.'
    She married her stepmother's brother.
    She married at 18 and stayed in a loveless marriage for 52 years until her husband died in a mental institution.
    She wrote the book 'How to Win and Hold a Husband (1939)' though her own hubby was a dreamer who couldn't hold a job.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She began writing as therapy to escape from her husband's increasing delusional behavior.
    She became friends with the owner of the New Orleans Daily Picayune newspaper in 1893 and wrote her first column for him three years later.
    Since her husband could not maintain a job, she became the family breadwinner by default.
    At one point her column was featured in 273 newspapers around the world, including United Kingdom, South America, Australia and China.
    At her 1940 peak, she was receiving 100,000 letters a year and her estimated reading audience was about 60 million.
    Her 'Dictates for a Happy Life,' a ten-point plan for happiness, became a much loved and oft repeated tome.
    'Dorothy Dix Talks' became the world’s longest-running newspaper feature.
    She was given mention by Ralph Kramden in one of the classic 39 episodes of 'The Honeymooners.'

Credit: Scar Tactics


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 6 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 16 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 26 Votes: 57.69% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 19 Votes: 47.37% Annoying