In 1880, Daniel David Palmer, a Canadian immigrant and self-taught “magnetic healer,” moved to Davenport, Iowa, and set up his practice. By 1895 he had progressed in his thinking about the root cause of disease and come to the conclusion that the culprit was inflammation.
He believed inflamed tissues were caused by misaligned spinal structures rubbing against each other, causing heat and pain. In his view, only “spinal adjustments” could alleviate the situation. However, he also had a strong suspicion that the nervous system was somehow involved.
At that point, along came Harvey Lillard, the African American janitor at his office building in Davenport. The man had gone totally deaf after taking a bad fall 17 years earlier, severely jarring the lower part of his spine. Applying what little was known about the nervous system back in 1895, Palmer suspected a disconnect between Lillard’s brain and his ears, specifically related to his lower spine. He adjusted the man’s lower back, which instantly restored his hearing, and the healing practice of chiropractic was born.
Two years after this remarkable event, Palmer founded the first chiropractic college in 1897. For several decades, chiropractic focused purely on adjusting the spine. However, as chiropractic grew in popularity, the pharmaceutical industry and allopathic doctors became concerned. By the time World War II ended, the American Medical Association had launched a
