Daniel David Palmer, born on this date in 1845, is credited with founding chiropractics, the discipline of manipulating the spine to relieve certain medical problems. His original interest was in medicine and magnetic healing but later turned to osteopathy. Palmer's first attempt to cure by means of spinal adjustments was in September 1895, when he adjusted the spine of someone with hearing loss. The experiment was unsuccessful but other successes gave him encouragement. Palmer theorized that disease resulted from misaligned skeletal structures. His treatment consisted of mechanical adjustment to the skeleton to relieve pressure on nerves. In 1898, he founded the Palmer Chiropractic School in Davenport, Iowa.

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