Chiropractic’s past gives a glimpse of its future. And its future has never been brighter: In 2004, a nationwide government study on complementary and alternative medicine showed that 40 million adult Americans (20 percent) have used chiropractic at some time in their lives, with a trend toward more use of alternative healthcare.
Throughout this special commemorative issue of Chiropractic Economics, you have enjoyed reading about significant historical events that have shaped the chiropractic profession. History is so full of concurrent happenings, it is difficult to put them all into perspective.
In this section, we have summarized the events highlighted in this issue — plus others that are important to the profession — in a timeline. We hope you will enjoy this encapsulated perspective of this growing profession.
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Chiropractic and World Timeline Events
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Chiropractic Events |
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World Events |
| 1895 |
D.D. Palmer reportedly performs the first chiropractic adjustment. |
| 1895 |
The X-ray is discovered by Wilhelm C. Roentgen. |
| 1896 |
Richard Sears begins the R.W. Sears Watch Company in Minneapolis. His company would become Sears Roebuck. |
| 1897 |
Dow Chemical and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Companies are founded. |
| 1899 |
D.D. Palmer and a Davenport, Iowa, allopathic physician feud and the struggle between chiropractic and allopathic medicine begins. |
| 1900 |
The Olds Company opens in Detroit. |
| 1902 |
JC Penney Co. begins as the Golden Rule Dry Goods Store in Kremmerer, Wyo. |
| 1906 |
The Universal Chiropractors’ Association (UCA), the
earliest ancestor of today’s ACA, is organized in Davenport, Iowa, as a legal protective society for DCs. |
| 1906 |
D.D. Palmer is found guilty of practicing medicine without a license and serves 23 days in Scott County Jail. |
| 1910 |
B. J. Palmer introduces x-ray to the chiropractic profession at the Palmer School of Chiropractic. |
| 1915 |
North Dakota and Arkansas are the first states to issue chiropractic licenses. |
| 1921 |
Time Magazine and Reader’s Digest begin publication. |
| 1922 |
More than 80 chiropractic schools are in operation. Enrollment at Palmer School tops 3,000. |
| 1930 |
A merger of the Universal Chiropractic Association and an older ACA forms the National Chiropractic Association, today's ACA. |
| 1944 |
The NCA founds the Chiropractic Research Foundation (today’s FCER). |
| 1952 |
IBM introduces the first commercial computer. |
| 1954 |
NASA is born |
| 1954 |
Bill Luckey begins publishing a periodic newsletter, the antecedent of today’s Chiropractic Economics. |
| 1954 |
U.S. Supreme Court rules that segregation of schools violates the 14th amendment. |
| 1958 |
Chiropractic Economics debuts as a magazine published six times per year. |
| 1958 |
The Chiropractic Research Foundation, organized under the auspices of the National Chiropractic Association (NCA) as a nonprofit philanthropic agency in 1944, is reorganized as the Foundation for Accredited Chiropractic Education. |
| 1958 |
Two public relations films become available to promote chiropractic. |
| 1959 |
Alaska and Hawaii are admitted to the union as the 49th and 50th states. |
| 1961 |
B.J. Palmer, son of the founder of chiropractic and founder of the ICA, passes away. |
| 1962 |
Palmer College of Chiro-practic begins teaching liberal arts courses. |
| 1963 |
President Kennedy is assassinated on November 22, 1963. |
| 1963 |
Chiropractic becomes legal in New York state. |
| 1963 |
Today’s NBCE is chartered. It will give its first exams in 1965. |
| 1964 |
The ACA’s director of education warns Chiropractic Economics readers about the AMA’s intent to eliminate chiropractic. |
| 1965 |
Medicare is established, providing hospital and medical benefits to people over 65 and financed through Social Security. |
| 1968 |
The ACA and ICA respond to a biased report by the Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare, which recommends against including chiropractic in Medicare. |
| 1969 |
Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the surface of the moon. |
| 1970 |
The presidents of leading straight chiropractic colleges form the original Association of Chiropractic Colleges and seek to form an accrediting agency independent of either the ACA or ICA. |
| 1971 |
Nike is founded. |
| 1971 |
The CCE is chartered as an independent body, separate from the American Chiropractic Association. |
| 1972 |
Money Magazine is launched |
| 1974 |
The U.S. Office of Education approves the CCE as the accrediting agency for chiropractic education. |
| 1974 |
President Nixon resigns and Gerald Ford, an appointed Vice President, becomes President. |
| 1974 |
Louisiana becomes the last state to enact a chiropractic licensing statute. |
| 1975 |
The first interdisciplinary meeting to review the “Research Status of Spinal Manipulative Therapy” is convened by the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke (NINCDS), marking the beginning of chiropractic research. |
| 1976 |
Chester A. Wilk, DC, and four co-plaintiffs sue the AMA for violating anti-trust laws. |
| 1978 |
In March 1978 the first issue of the Journal of Manipulative & Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) is published. |
| 1978 |
David D. Palmer, the grandson of the founder of chiropractic, dies at age 71. |
| 1980 |
The Association for the History of Chiropractic is established. |
| 1981 |
The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) becomes the first (and still only) chiropractic periodical to be indexed by the National Library of Medicine in Index Medicus. |
| 1987 |
Federal district Judge Susan Getzendanner rules in favor of DCs in the second trial of Wilk et al. vs. AMA et al. Her ruling will be sustained by higher courts. |
| 1988 |
A merger between the ICA and the ACA fails. |
| 1988 |
FAX machines appear as an integral business tool. |
| 1990 |
The U.S. Court of Appeals upholds the lower court’s ruling that the AMA was guilty of conspiracy. |
| 1990 |
The Berlin Wall is torn down. |
| 1995 |
Chiropractic Economics gets a new look and a new publisher, the Doyle Group. |
| 1995 |
Chiropractic celebrates its 100th birthday in celebrations around the world. |
| 1997 |
Chiropractic Economics launches its annual Salary and Expense and Fees and Reimbusements Surveys. |
| 1998 |
ACA files suit against the federal government to protect patients’ rights to receive chiropractic care under Medicare. |
| 1999 |
Nations around the world prepare to deal with Y2K (year 2000) computer problems. |
| 2000 |
ACA files Trigon lawsuit for discriminatory reimbursement policies. |
| 2004 |
A major U.S. government study shows that 40 million have used chiropractic and consumer demand for alternative healthcare is increasing. |
| 2004 |
Chiropractic Economics celebrates 50 years in publishing. |
