First Chiropractic Adjustment

At Brady and Second streets, in the former Ryan Building, Daniel David Palmer made the first chiropractic adjustment on September 18, 1895, while practicing as a magnetic healer. He repositioned a vertebra in Harvey Lillard's spine, and Palmer reported that the adjustment restored Lillard's hearing as he had intended. In 1897 Palmer founded the first chiropractic school on this site, and in 1905 he moved the school to the present Palmer College of Chiropractic campus atop Brady Street hill. By its centennial year, 1995, chiropractic was practiced by an estimated 60,000 chiropractors in 50 countries.

Davenport, Iowa · United States