Mabel Heath Palmer

Mabel Heath Palmer, married to B.J. Palmer, became known as the "First Lady of Chiropractic" and the "Sweetheart of the Profession." She met B.J. while attending Augustana College, married him in 1904, and earned her chiropractic degree at the Palmer School a year later. During the school's formative years she served as treasurer and business manager, contributing substantially to keeping the young institution financially afloat.

Her lasting professional legacy lies in anatomy. After advanced study of anatomy and dissection in Chicago, she returned to the Palmer School and led its anatomy instruction for more than four decades. In 1918 she wrote Anatomy, the first anatomy textbook ever written for chiropractic students — a work that explicitly described anatomical structures from the perspective of "Innate Intelligence," understanding the living organism as an intelligently ordered system. In this she combined precise technical knowledge with the vitalistic thinking of early chiropractic.

Beyond teaching, Mabel Palmer championed the role of women in the profession. In 1911 she founded Sigma Phi Chi, the world's first chiropractic sorority, and was active internationally as a lecturer and organizational leader — among other roles as president of the Quota Club, one of the first international professional organizations for women. She died in 1949 and was posthumously named a distinguished Fellow of the Palmer Academy of Chiropractic in 2006. Her birthday, June 5, is observed in the United States as "National Women Chiropractors Appreciation Day."