This same year, 1895, the history of chiropractic began when Daniel David Palmer performed an adjustment on a partially deaf janitor, Harvey Lillard. During an examination, Palmer noticed Lillard had a vertebra out of position. He performed spinal adjustments on Lillard that also restored Lillard’s hearing and word began to spread.
D.D. Palmer asked his patient and friend, Rev. Samuel Weed, to help him name his discovery. Rev. Weed suggested combining the Greek words cheiros and praktikos (meaning "done by hand") to describe Palmer's treatment method, creating the term “chiropractic.”
While Palmer gave chiropractic care its name, the discussion of the importance of spinal health to whole body health was nothing new.
It was Hippocrates, the Greek physician who lived from 460 to 357 B.C., who is quoted from his writings as saying, “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases.” Clearly, Palmer was in good company.
In 1896, fueled by his success with his patients, Palmer began to teach others his method. His efforts would become the Palmer School of Chiropractic (now Palmer College of Chiropractic). Among the first graduates was BJ Palmer, DD’s son, who had taken an interest in his father’s work and who later in 1902 assumed responsibility for the school following his graduation.
Together, between 1906 and 1949, they published the first of what would become a series of 46 books called the “Green Books.” Their first work was called, The Science of Chiropractic; Its Principles and Adjustments.
While many may not think of it in these terms, chiropractic’s growth has been a grass roots movement since the beginning.
It was an organized effort undertaken by a group of individuals, initially in and around Iowa, who sought and fought for the right to
give people a healthy alternative to available healthcare. Healthcare freedom has been in the chiropractic DNA since its inception, and still is today.
Meanwhile, around this time, on January 2, 1903, in a publication called The Newark Advocate, in a piece titled “The Edison Wizard,” Thomas Edison, concerned about the healthcare of his time, stated: “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
This light bulb of an idea burns as brightly today in the hearts and minds of chiropractors and other healers as it did then.
Courage, Sacrifice, & a Commitment to Principle
The early years of chiropractic brought many challenges. Its history is filled with courageous individuals (starting with Palmer), who faced personal hardship rather than abandon their values and commitment to their patients.