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Daniel David Palmer

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Daniel David Palmer was a Canadian-born American spiritualist and activist. He is most famous for creating the practice known as chiropractic. Palmer was born on March 7, 1845, in Pickering Township, Canada West. In 1865, he emigrated to the United States to begin a new life. Throughout his career, he held many different jobs. He worked as a beekeeper, a schoolteacher, and a grocery store owner.

Palmer held many beliefs regarding health and the human body. He was a proponent of alternative medicine, such as magnetic healing. He also believed in spiritualism, which is the belief that spirits can communicate with the living. Palmer believed the human body possessed a natural healing power. He thought this power was transmitted through the nervous system. Because of this, he opposed mainstream medical practices like vaccination.

To understand Palmer's method, one must understand his theory of subluxation. He believed that if an organ was sick, it was not receiving its proper nerve supply. He called this interference a spinal misalignment, or a vertebral subluxation. He viewed the body as a machine that could be adjusted. By performing spinal manipulation, he aimed to realign the vertebrae. This realignment was intended to reestablish the normal flow of nerve signals.

History suggests that chiropractic began in 1895 in Davenport, Iowa. At the time, Palmer was practicing magnetic healing. He encountered a man named Harvey Lillard, who suffered from severe hearing impairment. Palmer suggested a lump on Lillard's back might be the cause. Palmer manipulated Lillard's back and claimed it restored his hearing. However, Lillard's daughter provided a different account of this event. She claimed Palmer simply slapped Lillard on the back after hearing a joke.

Palmer's philosophy shared some similarities with osteopathy. Andrew Still had established the principles of osteopathy a decade earlier. Both systems viewed the body as a machine that could be cured without drugs. However, they focused on different systems. Osteopaths used the term somatic dysfunction to describe spinal issues. They believed these issues affected the circulatory system. In contrast, chiropractors focused on the nervous system. Palmer also used specific short-lever techniques involving the spinous and transverse processes.

As his ideas grew, Palmer began teaching others his methods. In 1897, he founded the Palmer School and Cure in Davenport. This institution eventually became the Palmer College of Chiropractic. His son, B.J. Palmer, was among his early students. Palmer also helped establish chiropractic schools in Oklahoma, California, and Oregon. His career was not without legal trouble. In 1906, he was prosecuted in Iowa for practicing medicine without a license. He spent 17 days in jail before choosing to pay a fine.

Palmer's personal life was complex and sometimes difficult. He was married six times during his life. His relationship with his son, B.J. Palmer, was often bitter and tenuous. This tension continued even after B.J. bought the school from his father. Following the sale, D.D. Palmer moved to the Western United States. He continued to promote his views on biology and the soul. He viewed the connection between spirit and body as a scientific basis for biology.

Details surrounding Palmer's death in 1913 remain a subject of discussion. In August 1913, he was struck from behind by a car during a parade in Davenport. The car was driven by his son, B.J. Palmer. While some believed this accident caused his death, the courts exonerated B.J. Palmer of any responsibility. D.D. Palmer died in Los Angeles, California, on October 20, 1913. The official cause of death was recorded as typhoid fever.

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