Andrew Taylor Still
Encyclopedia
Andrew Taylor Still is considered the father of osteopathy
and osteopathic medicine
. He was also a physician & surgeon, author, inventor and Kansas territorial & state legislator. He was one of the founders of Baker University
, the oldest 4-year college in the state of Kansas, and was the founder of the American School of Osteopathy (now A. T. Still University), the world's first osteopathic medical school, in Kirksville, Missouri
.
, in 1828, the son of a Methodist minister and physician
. At an early age, Still decided to follow in his father's footsteps as a physician. After studying medicine and serving an apprenticeship under his father, he entered the Civil War
as a Hospital Steward, but would later state in his autobiography that he served as a "defacto surgeon." This is consistent with US Army military medical history of the time. Military medical historians record that "Provision was made for the enlistment of intelligent men from civil life into the (Hospital) corps, and for the organization of companies of instruction in which the training of the men in all the details of hospital service as cooks, nurses, attendants, litter-bearers, etc., is perfected under the supervision of the medical officers. Certain of these men are selected for assignment as acting hospital stewards after an examination to determine their proficiency in pharmacy, materia medica and the management of medical and surgical emergencies; and after a year, at least, of service and a further examination on these subjects, together with minor surgery and the elements of practical sanitation, they are eligible for promotion to the position of Hospital Steward…The Hospital Stewards of the Army were originally appointed to take charge of hospital stores, furniture and supplies for the sick, and to receive and distribute rations at hospitals; but as no pharmacist was provided for hospitals, the duty of making up prescriptions and having general charge of the sick in the absence of the medical officers fell to the lot of the Hospital Steward, and came by degrees to be regarded as his most important work." Promotion to Assistant Surgeon and Surgeon were the reward of military service. Given his background, Dr. Still entered service in the Union Army as a Hospital Steward.
After the Civil War and following the death of three of his children from spinal meningitis
in 1864, Still concluded that the orthodox medical practices of his day were frequently ineffective and sometimes harmful. He devoted the next thirty years of his life to studying the human body
and finding alternative ways to treat disease
. During this period, he completed a short course in medicine at the new College of Physicians and Surgeons in Kansas City, Missouri
, in 1870.
movement and a friend and ally of the infamous anti-slavery leaders John Brown
and James H. Lane. He became deeply embroiled in the fight over whether Kansas would be admitted to the Union as a slave state or a free state. The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 provided that the settlers in those two territories would decide the question for themselves. Civil war raged in Kansas as both sides tried to gain control of the territorial government. In October 1857, Still was elected to represent Douglas and Johnson counties in the Kansas territorial legislature. Still and his brothers took up arms in the cause and participated in the Bleeding Kansas
battles (between the pro and anti-slavery citizens). By August 1858, a free-state constitution had been passed; Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state on January 29, 1861. Dr. Still would serve a total of five years in the Kansas legislature.
. He made improvements to a mowing machine designed to harvest wheat and hay, but before a patent could be submitted, his idea was stolen by a visiting sales representative from the Wood Mowing Machine Co. In 1910, he patented a smokeless furnace burner but had “some difficulty producing a full-sized working model. Heartbroken after his wife, Mary Elvira's, death in May 1910, he did not have the will to pursue the matter further, and the invention was never successfully marketed.”
, the first 4-year university in the state of Kansas. Between 1854 and 1856, the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church
appointed three commissioners, Elder Hood, A.B. Dennis and A. T. Still' s father, Abram Still, to purchase a site for Baker University. A.T. Still recalls, "I lived in Palmyra (now Baldwin City
) at that time, took an active part in rushing the scheme on, and was appointed by the commissioners of the general conference as agent with my brother Thomas, J.B. Abbott, Daniel Fry, James Blood and others, to select and locate a spot for the university building. We gave the church 640 acres of land, all in one body. Myself and two brothers donated 480 acres of land for the town site of Baldwin to assist in the establishment of Baker University. We-myself, brother and two men named Barricklow-purchased and erected a forty horsepower steam sawmill, and sawed all the lumber for the university and the other buildings at Baldwin...I was ground agent of the work and was five years engaged in sawing, building and doctoring the sick through small-pox, cholera and other diseases, and representing the people of Douglas County in the Kansas Legislature, during which time we washed and ironed the last wrinkle of human slavery out of the State...I was called a good doctor, a faithful legislator, a sober, sound and loyal man, abounding with truth and justice and a heartful of love to all. But...when I asked the privilege of explaining Osteopathy in Baker University
the doors of the structure I helped build were closed against me."
as "that science which consists of such exact, exhaustive, and verifiable knowledge of the structure and function of the human mechanism, anatomical, physiological and psychological, including the chemistry and physics of its known elements, as has made discoverable certain organic laws and remedial resources, within the body itself, by which nature under the scientific treatment peculiar to osteopathic practice, apart from all ordinary methods of extraneous, artificial, or medicinal stimulation, and in harmonious accord with its own mechanical principles, molecular activities, and metabolic processes, may recover from displacements, disorganizations, derangements, and consequent disease, and regained its normal equilibrium of form and function in health and strength."
When asked, "Why did Osteopathy come before the world as a healing art?" Still said: "One says, or has said, that necessity is the mother of invention. It becomes necessary to have some method or system of the healing art based upon a philosophical foundation, because all authors who have written on diseases when their philosophy was carefully read, practiced and weighed, proved itself to be a lamentable failure. All writers have simply given us the effects minus cause after all their theorizing, experimenting, diagnosis and treatment. We have found that all of their theories do tremble when we ask the writer to show us the cause of such diseases as shaking palsy, asthma, pneumonia, consumption, goitre, gallstones, spasms, diseases of the heart, locomotor ataxia, facial neuralgia, rheumatism, and the whole list of diseases of which the human is heir to from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot. This necessity is the mother of this invention or discovery, known as the mechanic's remedy for disease known as Osteopathy. Thus you see that the mechanical healer or Osteopath is the legitimate child of the mother of inventions. Her name is necessity."
He was one of the first physicians of his day to promote the idea of preventive medicine
and the philosophy that physicians should focus on treating the disease rather than just the symptoms.
Still said, "It has been the object of myself and also of my teachers to direct and be guided by the compass that points to nothing but demonstrative truth. Nothing disgusts me so quick or makes me so furious as to listen to a long lecture on religion, science, government or any other subject – to sit and listen until I'm worn out physically and mentally. Hoping that the talker will say something practical instead of winding up with “however,” “possibly,” etc. He says “this is a authority,” “that is authority” because of its antiquity; its long adoption and so on. There I sit for a morsel of truth that can be demonstrated; but alas he uses that old phrase “possibly this is true” and I quietly think you had better demonstrate and that demonstration be the fact that should stand side-by-side with every assertion as the voucher of for its truthfulness. Give me anything but a theory that you cannot demonstrate. My motto is now, and has always been, to work and work hard and obtain knowledge much or little... My work for over 30 years has been confined to the study of man as a machine designed and produced by the mind of the Architect of the Universe. I hope I have by my study discovered and been able to give to the world some of the Truths of Life and the laws that operate to keep the body in healthy condition."
At the time, these beliefs formed the basis of a new medical approach known as Osteopathy
. Based on this philosophy, Still founded the first school of osteopathy – the American School of Osteopathy (now A. T. Still University of the Health Sciences) in Kirksville, Missouri
in 1892.
In a December 7, 1907, interview with the Topeka Daily Capital newspaper, his son, Charles Still, DO, summarized his father's philosophy as this: "Osteopathy deals with the body as an intricate machine which if kept in proper adjustment, nourished and cared for, will run smoothly into an old useful age. As long as the human machine is in order, the same as the locomotive, it will perform the functions for which it was intended. Every living organism has within itself the power to manufacture and prepare all chemicals, materials and forces needed to build and rebuild itself, producing the only substance that can be utilized in the economy of the individuals."
"I do not want to go back to God with less knowledge than when I was born. I want my footprints to make an impress on the field of reason. I have no desire to be a cat and walk so lightly that it never creates a disturbance. I want my footprints to be plainly seen by all..."
"The best osteopath is the best engineer; the best engineer is the best osteopath."
"An osteopath is only a human engineer, who should understand all the laws governing his engine and thereby master disease."
"I have always advocated that a woman had as much sense as a man, or she would not have been called to be his help-meet and companion. A question: What man wants to spend his days with a woman fool? I think she is in as much danger of spending her days with a fool as he is. I opened wide the doors of my first school for ladies. Another and a much greater reason I will offer and emphasize. Why not elevate our sister’s mentality, qualify her to fill all places of trust and honor, place her hand and head with the skilled arts. I know no reason she should not study anatomy, physiology, chemistry and all the machinery and laws of life…I will say by way of encouragement that all ladies who have graduated from this school and gone out in the world, have done well financially, and are made the guests of the best society in the land. They are well received and honored as ladies, and well paid for their skill. Places are open and ready for all that have a diploma from this school. And for the first time I will say, come on and qualify yourselves to take your places of usefulness. Do your part well, and a feast awaits you."
Osteopathy
Osteopathy and osteopathic medicine are often used interchangeably for the philosophy and system of alternative medical practice first proposed by A. T. Still MD, DO in 1874....
and osteopathic medicine
Osteopathic medicine
Osteopathic medicine is a branch of the medical profession in the United States. Osteopathic physicians, known as DOs, are licensed to practice medicine and surgery in all 50 states and are recognized in forty-seven other countries, including most Canadian provinces.Frontier physician Andrew Taylor...
. He was also a physician & surgeon, author, inventor and Kansas territorial & state legislator. He was one of the founders of Baker University
Baker University
Baker University is a private, residential university located in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools...
, the oldest 4-year college in the state of Kansas, and was the founder of the American School of Osteopathy (now A. T. Still University), the world's first osteopathic medical school, in Kirksville, Missouri
Kirksville, Missouri
Kirksville is the county seat of Adair County, Missouri, United States. It is located in Benton Township. The population was 17,505 at the 2010 census. Kirksville also anchors a micropolitan area that comprises Adair and Schuyler counties. The city is perhaps best known as the location of Truman...
.
Early life
Still was born in Lee County, VirginiaLee County, Virginia
According to the census 2009 estimates, there were 25001 people, 11,587 households, and 6,852 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 11,587 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
, in 1828, the son of a Methodist minister and physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
. At an early age, Still decided to follow in his father's footsteps as a physician. After studying medicine and serving an apprenticeship under his father, he entered the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
as a Hospital Steward, but would later state in his autobiography that he served as a "defacto surgeon." This is consistent with US Army military medical history of the time. Military medical historians record that "Provision was made for the enlistment of intelligent men from civil life into the (Hospital) corps, and for the organization of companies of instruction in which the training of the men in all the details of hospital service as cooks, nurses, attendants, litter-bearers, etc., is perfected under the supervision of the medical officers. Certain of these men are selected for assignment as acting hospital stewards after an examination to determine their proficiency in pharmacy, materia medica and the management of medical and surgical emergencies; and after a year, at least, of service and a further examination on these subjects, together with minor surgery and the elements of practical sanitation, they are eligible for promotion to the position of Hospital Steward…The Hospital Stewards of the Army were originally appointed to take charge of hospital stores, furniture and supplies for the sick, and to receive and distribute rations at hospitals; but as no pharmacist was provided for hospitals, the duty of making up prescriptions and having general charge of the sick in the absence of the medical officers fell to the lot of the Hospital Steward, and came by degrees to be regarded as his most important work." Promotion to Assistant Surgeon and Surgeon were the reward of military service. Given his background, Dr. Still entered service in the Union Army as a Hospital Steward.
After the Civil War and following the death of three of his children from spinal meningitis
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
in 1864, Still concluded that the orthodox medical practices of his day were frequently ineffective and sometimes harmful. He devoted the next thirty years of his life to studying the human body
Human body
The human body is the entire structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs.By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 100 trillion cells, the basic unit of life...
and finding alternative ways to treat disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
. During this period, he completed a short course in medicine at the new College of Physicians and Surgeons in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, in 1870.
Kansas territorial and state legislator
A.T. Still was active in the abolitionAbolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
movement and a friend and ally of the infamous anti-slavery leaders John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
and James H. Lane. He became deeply embroiled in the fight over whether Kansas would be admitted to the Union as a slave state or a free state. The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 provided that the settlers in those two territories would decide the question for themselves. Civil war raged in Kansas as both sides tried to gain control of the territorial government. In October 1857, Still was elected to represent Douglas and Johnson counties in the Kansas territorial legislature. Still and his brothers took up arms in the cause and participated in the Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
battles (between the pro and anti-slavery citizens). By August 1858, a free-state constitution had been passed; Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state on January 29, 1861. Dr. Still would serve a total of five years in the Kansas legislature.
Inventor and patents
Still was fascinated by machines, and whenever faced with a mechanical problem, his answer was always to devise a better approach. In the 1870s, he patented an improved butter churnButter churn
A butter churn is a device used to convert cream into butter. This is done through a mechanical process, frequently via a pole inserted through the lid of the churn, or via a crank used to turn a rotating device inside the churn.-Process:...
. He made improvements to a mowing machine designed to harvest wheat and hay, but before a patent could be submitted, his idea was stolen by a visiting sales representative from the Wood Mowing Machine Co. In 1910, he patented a smokeless furnace burner but had “some difficulty producing a full-sized working model. Heartbroken after his wife, Mary Elvira's, death in May 1910, he did not have the will to pursue the matter further, and the invention was never successfully marketed.”
Baker University
A. T. Still and his family were among the founders of Baker UniversityBaker University
Baker University is a private, residential university located in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools...
, the first 4-year university in the state of Kansas. Between 1854 and 1856, the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
appointed three commissioners, Elder Hood, A.B. Dennis and A. T. Still' s father, Abram Still, to purchase a site for Baker University. A.T. Still recalls, "I lived in Palmyra (now Baldwin City
Baldwin City, Kansas
Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States about south of Lawrence and west of Gardner. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,515. It is part of the Lawrence, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area...
) at that time, took an active part in rushing the scheme on, and was appointed by the commissioners of the general conference as agent with my brother Thomas, J.B. Abbott, Daniel Fry, James Blood and others, to select and locate a spot for the university building. We gave the church 640 acres of land, all in one body. Myself and two brothers donated 480 acres of land for the town site of Baldwin to assist in the establishment of Baker University. We-myself, brother and two men named Barricklow-purchased and erected a forty horsepower steam sawmill, and sawed all the lumber for the university and the other buildings at Baldwin...I was ground agent of the work and was five years engaged in sawing, building and doctoring the sick through small-pox, cholera and other diseases, and representing the people of Douglas County in the Kansas Legislature, during which time we washed and ironed the last wrinkle of human slavery out of the State...I was called a good doctor, a faithful legislator, a sober, sound and loyal man, abounding with truth and justice and a heartful of love to all. But...when I asked the privilege of explaining Osteopathy in Baker University
Baker University
Baker University is a private, residential university located in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools...
the doors of the structure I helped build were closed against me."
Osteopathy
A. T. Still defined osteopathyOsteopathy
Osteopathy and osteopathic medicine are often used interchangeably for the philosophy and system of alternative medical practice first proposed by A. T. Still MD, DO in 1874....
as "that science which consists of such exact, exhaustive, and verifiable knowledge of the structure and function of the human mechanism, anatomical, physiological and psychological, including the chemistry and physics of its known elements, as has made discoverable certain organic laws and remedial resources, within the body itself, by which nature under the scientific treatment peculiar to osteopathic practice, apart from all ordinary methods of extraneous, artificial, or medicinal stimulation, and in harmonious accord with its own mechanical principles, molecular activities, and metabolic processes, may recover from displacements, disorganizations, derangements, and consequent disease, and regained its normal equilibrium of form and function in health and strength."
When asked, "Why did Osteopathy come before the world as a healing art?" Still said: "One says, or has said, that necessity is the mother of invention. It becomes necessary to have some method or system of the healing art based upon a philosophical foundation, because all authors who have written on diseases when their philosophy was carefully read, practiced and weighed, proved itself to be a lamentable failure. All writers have simply given us the effects minus cause after all their theorizing, experimenting, diagnosis and treatment. We have found that all of their theories do tremble when we ask the writer to show us the cause of such diseases as shaking palsy, asthma, pneumonia, consumption, goitre, gallstones, spasms, diseases of the heart, locomotor ataxia, facial neuralgia, rheumatism, and the whole list of diseases of which the human is heir to from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot. This necessity is the mother of this invention or discovery, known as the mechanic's remedy for disease known as Osteopathy. Thus you see that the mechanical healer or Osteopath is the legitimate child of the mother of inventions. Her name is necessity."
He was one of the first physicians of his day to promote the idea of preventive medicine
Preventive medicine
Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...
and the philosophy that physicians should focus on treating the disease rather than just the symptoms.
Still said, "It has been the object of myself and also of my teachers to direct and be guided by the compass that points to nothing but demonstrative truth. Nothing disgusts me so quick or makes me so furious as to listen to a long lecture on religion, science, government or any other subject – to sit and listen until I'm worn out physically and mentally. Hoping that the talker will say something practical instead of winding up with “however,” “possibly,” etc. He says “this is a authority,” “that is authority” because of its antiquity; its long adoption and so on. There I sit for a morsel of truth that can be demonstrated; but alas he uses that old phrase “possibly this is true” and I quietly think you had better demonstrate and that demonstration be the fact that should stand side-by-side with every assertion as the voucher of for its truthfulness. Give me anything but a theory that you cannot demonstrate. My motto is now, and has always been, to work and work hard and obtain knowledge much or little... My work for over 30 years has been confined to the study of man as a machine designed and produced by the mind of the Architect of the Universe. I hope I have by my study discovered and been able to give to the world some of the Truths of Life and the laws that operate to keep the body in healthy condition."
At the time, these beliefs formed the basis of a new medical approach known as Osteopathy
Osteopathy
Osteopathy and osteopathic medicine are often used interchangeably for the philosophy and system of alternative medical practice first proposed by A. T. Still MD, DO in 1874....
. Based on this philosophy, Still founded the first school of osteopathy – the American School of Osteopathy (now A. T. Still University of the Health Sciences) in Kirksville, Missouri
Kirksville, Missouri
Kirksville is the county seat of Adair County, Missouri, United States. It is located in Benton Township. The population was 17,505 at the 2010 census. Kirksville also anchors a micropolitan area that comprises Adair and Schuyler counties. The city is perhaps best known as the location of Truman...
in 1892.
In a December 7, 1907, interview with the Topeka Daily Capital newspaper, his son, Charles Still, DO, summarized his father's philosophy as this: "Osteopathy deals with the body as an intricate machine which if kept in proper adjustment, nourished and cared for, will run smoothly into an old useful age. As long as the human machine is in order, the same as the locomotive, it will perform the functions for which it was intended. Every living organism has within itself the power to manufacture and prepare all chemicals, materials and forces needed to build and rebuild itself, producing the only substance that can be utilized in the economy of the individuals."
Quotations
"Let us not be governed today by what we did yesterday, nor tomorrow by what we do today, for day by day we must show progress.""I do not want to go back to God with less knowledge than when I was born. I want my footprints to make an impress on the field of reason. I have no desire to be a cat and walk so lightly that it never creates a disturbance. I want my footprints to be plainly seen by all..."
"The best osteopath is the best engineer; the best engineer is the best osteopath."
"An osteopath is only a human engineer, who should understand all the laws governing his engine and thereby master disease."
"I have always advocated that a woman had as much sense as a man, or she would not have been called to be his help-meet and companion. A question: What man wants to spend his days with a woman fool? I think she is in as much danger of spending her days with a fool as he is. I opened wide the doors of my first school for ladies. Another and a much greater reason I will offer and emphasize. Why not elevate our sister’s mentality, qualify her to fill all places of trust and honor, place her hand and head with the skilled arts. I know no reason she should not study anatomy, physiology, chemistry and all the machinery and laws of life…I will say by way of encouragement that all ladies who have graduated from this school and gone out in the world, have done well financially, and are made the guests of the best society in the land. They are well received and honored as ladies, and well paid for their skill. Places are open and ready for all that have a diploma from this school. And for the first time I will say, come on and qualify yourselves to take your places of usefulness. Do your part well, and a feast awaits you."
External links
- Still National Osteopathic Museum, Kirksville
- Autobiography Autobiography of A. T. Still 1897
- Philosophy Philosophy of Osteopathy 1899
- http://www.interlinea.org/atstill/Autobiography_Revised_V2.pdf Autobiography of A. T. Still Revised Edition 1908
- http://www.interlinea.org/atstill/eBookPMPO_V2.0.pdf The Philosophy and Mechanical Principles of Osteopathy 1902