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Chiropractic college.

Famous Chiropractor Cracks Your Back

Field review by the editors.

Davenport, Iowa

Daniel David Palmer was a spiritualist and magnetic healer who invented chiropractic medicine. He performed the first chiropractic spinal "adjustment" in Davenport on, perhaps, September 18, 1895 (accounts vary), and subsequently founded the first chiropractic school, which is still teaching chiropractors today. Busts of famous graduates, including Palmer's son and grandson, stand in front of the building.

Chiropractic college founder D.D. Palmer.
Chiropractic college founder D.D. Palmer.

On the 124th anniversary of Palmer's first adjustment, a bronze sculpture of the event was unveiled on the school grounds. The sculptor, Gino Tassara, consulted with the college's historian to ensure that he placed Palmer's hands in the proper position.

Rather than depict the first patient, a janitor named Harvey Lillard -- who claimed that his hearing was restored by the treatment -- an open space has been left between the table and Palmer's hands. Visitors are encouraged to lie on the table and pose as if they are about to be adjusted by Palmer himself.

Famous Chiropractor Cracks Your Back

Address:
W. 8th St., Davenport, IA
Directions:
North edge of downtown, in the courtyard of the Palmer College of Chiropractic. Enter up the alley from the north side of W. 8th St., midway between N. Main St. and US-61/BUS/Brady St., and you'll soon see the sculpture ahead on the left.
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