Chiropractic traditionally celebrates its "birthday" annually on the 18th of September. This is the date in 1895 on which Daniel David (D.D.) Palmer is said to have performed the first chiropractic adjustment on Harvey Lillard, an African-American janitor working in the Ryan Building, which housed Dr. Palmer's magnetic healing practice in downtown Davenport, Iowa.
However, this revered date in the profession is by no means safe as the date on which the first chiropractic adjustment took place, something that has been investigated thoroughly.1-2
Conflicting Evidence
In his 1910 tome, D.D. Palmer describes the incident as follows:
On Sept. 18, 1895, Harvey Lillard called upon me. He was so deaf for seventeen years that he could not hear the noises on the street. Mr. Lillard informed me that he was in a cramped position and felt something give in his back. I replaced the displaced 4th dorsal vertebrae by one move, which restored his hearing fully.
Unfortunately, there is conflicting evidence in the surviving documents from the era that suggest the Sept. 18, 1895 date is not correct. First, this testimonial from Harvey Lillard himself was published in a January 1897 promotional broadside-like newspaper published and distributed by D.D. Palmer:
I was deaf 17 years and I expected to always remain so, for I had doctored a great deal without any benefit. I had long ago made up my mind to not take any more ear treatments, for it did me no good.
Last January Dr. Palmer told me that my deafness came from an injury in my spine. This was new to me; but it is a fact that my back was injured at the time I went deaf. Dr. Palmer treated me on the spine; in two treatments I could hear quite well. That was eight months ago. My hearing remains good.
Because the Lillard testimonial was first printed in a document with a January 1897 publication date, this would imply the initial chiropractic adjustment actually occurred sometime in January 1896 – not September 1895.
D.D. Palmer muddies the water even more in a letter he posted to one of his early graduates, Dr. Solon Massey Langworthy. Dr. Langworthy established his practice in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in late 1901 after obtaining his Palmer School of Chiropractic and Cure diploma, and founded the American School of Chiropractic and Nature Cure toward the end of 1903, serving as the first and only president of this incorporated chiropractic institution.
In addition to founding a chiropractic school, Dr. Langworthy is credited with a number of important firsts in the chiropractic profession, such as publishing the profession's first regular journal (Backbone), publishing chiropractic's first textbooks (Modernized Chiropractic, Volumes I & II), establishing the first systematic chiropractic curriculum, and patenting various adjusting and traction tables.
With all these accomplishments under his belt, Dr. Langworthy would place himself as a challenger to the Palmers' leadership of the profession. He was a vocal critic of D.D. Palmer, questioning his character and inability to keep his stories straight regarding the genesis of the profession. In a scathing denouncement of Old Dad Chiro, Dr. Langworthy raises the issue of Palmer's faulty memory and constant geographic relocations:
This same 'fountain head' (?) man, while in his fourth 'permanent location' says: 'I find, by reference to my books, the very first adjustment of the vertebra was done about Dec. 1, 1895. * * * * So I date Chiropractic from Dec. 1, 1895.' While in his sixth 'permanent location' he appears in print with the statement that 'the first PERSON was adjusted Sept. 18, 1895. ... It is quite evident he has the wrong nozzle on his fountain.
Finally, B.J. Palmer contributes to the controversy by putting forth yet another potential date while testifying in a trial as an expert witness. In the case of The State of Wisconsin v S.R. Jansheski, B.J. provided the following testimony:
Mr. Tom Morris: And how long do you say you have been making a study of this whole subject [chiropractic]?
B.J. Palmer: From the time my father first gave it birth, in 1895, in the spring.
Four Anniversary Dates?
As a result of these investigations, there are now four potential dates of discovery put forth: Sept. 18, 1895; sometime in January 1896; Dec. 1, 1895; or the spring of 1895. So, all we can say is chiropractic was founded sometime between September 1895 and late January 1896. We can never be sure of the exact date, as the documentary evidence is filled with conflicts that can probably never be reconciled.
One might wonder whether knowing with certainty the exact date of chiropractic's founding is really that important. By analogy, biblical scholars are certain Jesus Christ was not likely born in the month of December, the month his birth is celebrated by the Christian faithful.3 The Bible does not specify a date or month. Additionally, shepherds did not let their flocks out to graze in December, as the Bible accounts state occurred during the birth of Christ, because the fields would be dormant and unproductive at that time of year. So, the exact date of Christ's birth is not nearly as important as simply gathering together on some specified date to celebrate one of the holiest events in the Christian faith.
Likewise, the exact date of the founding of chiropractic is not nearly as important as members of the chiropractic profession gathering together annually to celebrate and commemorate shared traditions and heritage.
Author's Note: The Association for the History of Chiropractic (AHC) has preserved the credible history of the profession as its sole mission through the publication of the scholarly journal, Chiropractic History. Stories such as this one may be accessed through the pages of the AHC's journal (www.historyofchiropractic.org).
References
- Troyanovich S, Troyanovich J. Reflections on the birth date of chiropractic. Chiro History, 2013;33(2):20-32.
- Troyanovich SJ, Troyanovich JD. "Things That Make You Go ... Hmmm." Thirty Fifth Annual Conference of The Association for the History of Chiropractic, Puerto Rico, June 20, 2015.
- "What Are the Most Common Misconceptions About Jesus Christ's Birth?" Posted on ChristianAnswers.com.
