Who Was this Doctor?

Who Was this Doctor?

* Grandfather of the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) in
1934-35.

* First chairman of the National Chiropractic Association (NCA's)
Committee on Educational Standards (1935-38).

* Founding publisher and editor of one of the first science
journals of chiropractic technique, the American Chiropractic
Journal (1941).

* Author, The Basic Principles of Chiropractic Government (1944).

* Invited speaker, National Educational Association convention
(1962).

* Chairman of the Committee on Research of the American Chiropractic
Association (1966-68).

* Philosopher of the Science of Chiropractic, advocated clinical
research as the basis for clinical practice in chiropractic.

Still not sure? See top of page SC 4.

Reference:

Keating JC: Pioneer advocate for clinical scientific chiropractic.
Chiropractic History 1987;7(2):10-5.

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Who Was this Doctor?

* Former medical (University of Iowa) and osteopathic student under
Dr. A.T. Still.

* One of D.D. Palmer's first six graduates (1899).

* Dean of Faculty, American School of Chiropractic (1903-1905).

* Authored the first book about chiropractic (1906): Modernized
Chiropractic.

* Discoverer of the "ligatight" (1905) and founder of Naprapathy.

Still not sure? See second answer under "Who Are these Doctors?"
on page SC 4.

Reference:

Zarbuck MV: A profession for "bohemian chiropractic": the evolution
of naprapathy. Chiropractic History 1986;6:76-82.

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bleed page SC 4

Who Are these Doctors?

The first doctor is C.O. Watkins, D.C., (1902-1977), born in Cedar
Grove, Iowa to Welch immigrant farmers. After high school he
entered the Palmer School of Chiropractic (PSC), completed the
three-year course, and graduated in 1925. In 1926, he earned his
license and established what would be a 50-year solo practice in
Sidney, Montana.

Watkins was apparently strongly influenced by the "neurocalometer
debacle" at the PSC in 1924, and became a lifelong campaigner
against cultism and for scientific research as a basis for clinical
practice. In 1935, as Montana delegate to the National
Chiropractic Association (NCA), he introduced the resolution which
saw the formation of the Committee on Educational Standards, later
to become the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE). Watkins
served as chairman of the NCA board of directors (1942-43), but
resigned in frustration at his inability to convince his fellows of
the need for clinical research by practitioners. His 1944 booklet,
The Basic Principles of Chiropractic Government, spelled out his
views on the need of the profession to organize for scientific
development. He was unsuccessful in his effort to establish a
science journal of chiropractic (the American Chiropractic
Journal), but continued for decades as a prolific contributor to
the chiropractic literature. He was posthumously awarded the
doctor of humanities by Northwestern College of Chiropractic in
1987 for his many years of service to the profession.

***

Our second mystery doctor is Oakley G. Smith, D.C., D.N.,
(1880-1967), born in Iowa City, Iowa. He was among the first of
D.D. Palmer's graduates to challenge the validity of the
subluxation theory. Smith collaborated with Solon Massey
Langworthy, D.C., and Minora Paxton, D.C., in running the American
School of Chiropractic (ASC) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa during
1903-1905. His 1906 textbook Modernized Chiropractic, evolved from
his lectures at the ASC. He founded the Chicago College of
Naprapathy (now the Chicago National College of Naprapathy) in
1907.

These biographical sketches are from the journal of the Association
for the History of Chiropractic (AHC), Chiropractic History.
The AHC is a non-profit membership organization open to
chiropractors and friends of the profession and committed to
advancing and preserving knowledge of the history of chiropractic.
The AHC holds an annual convention and twice annually publishes its
journal, indexed in the historical section of Index Medicus by the
National Library of Medicine. Membership in the AHC is $35/year
($17/year for students), and automatically includes a subscription
to Chiropractic History. If the history of chiropractic is
important to you, consider joining the AHC.

Association for the History of Chiropractic