Delta Sigma Chi () is an American

fraternal organization A fraternity (; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in the Western conce ...

for professionals in the area of

Chiropractic Chiropractic () is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It is based on several pseudoscientific ideas. Many c ...

History

In 1913, there were three chiropractic schools in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

: the

Palmer School of Chiropractic Palmer College of Chiropractic is a private chiropractic college with its main campus in Davenport, Iowa. It was established in 1897 by Daniel David Palmer and was the first school of chiropractic in the world. The college's name was origin ...

, Universal College of Chiropractic, and the

Davenport College Davenport College (colloquially referred to as D'port) is one of the fourteen residential colleges of Yale University. Its buildings were completed in 1933 mainly in the Georgian style but with a gothic façade along York Street. The college ...

of Chiropractic. On July 4 of that year, a group of chiropractic students representing those schools held an

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

picnic at

Credit Island Credit Island is an island in the Mississippi River on the south west side of Davenport, Iowa within the Quad Cities area. Its name was derived by the use of the island as a trading post for the North American fur trade. Credit could be o ...

. Within this large group, a smaller group of friends discussed the subject of a chiropractic

Greek letter The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BC. It was derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and is the earliest known alphabetic script to systematically write vowels as wel ...

fraternity. On July 13, 1913, the first meeting of the fledgling organization took place, which is now the celebrated birth of the legacy of Delta Sigma Chi. Its twelve charter members included: * William E. Bender of

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,050 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Meadville is withi ...

* Harry D. Cummings of

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

* J. E. Cummins of

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* Arthur D. Daxie of

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Kane County, Illinois, Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located northwest of Chicago along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

* Lynn H. Gearhart of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

* J. Dudley Hills of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

* Harold A. Hughes of

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

* S. E. Julander of

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

* A. C. McCrea of

Alliance, Ohio Alliance is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 21,672 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It was established in 1854 by the merger of three smaller communities and was a manufacturing and railroad hub in t ...

* John H. Reardon of

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Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

* John R. Walsh of Munnhall, Pennsylvania * Charles E. Weyland of

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

At that meeting, the founder completed plans for a Greek letter professional chiropractic fraternity by electing temporary officers and appointed a committee to draft a constitution and bylaws. Hughes served as its first president. The charter membership was limited to twelve men, however, the membership was opened and extended to twenty. On November 6, 1913, B. J. Palmer was initiated into the brotherhood of Delta Sigma Chi. Five years later Palmer was elected the honorary president of the fraternity. Delta Sigma Chi promotes straight unadulterated chiropractic principles, as set forth by B. J. Palmer. In addition, its members promote good fellowship and brotherhood as well as brotherly feeling amongst chiropractors, schools, and students. Beta chapter was later added at Eastern College in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. This was followed by Gamma chapter at

Texas Chiropractic College Texas Chiropractic College (TCC) is a private chiropractic college in Pasadena, Texas. Founded in 1908, it is the fourth-oldest chiropractic college in the United States. TCC was originally located in San Antonio, Texas before moving in 1965 to P ...

. By August 1921, ''Alpha chapter'' had 2,050 members, ''Beta'' had 200 members, and the newly created ''Gamma'' and ''Delta'' had 25 members each. When it celebrated its 38th anniversary in July 1951, the fraternity had 5,000 members. The fraternity has reprinted nine of B. J. Palmer's original books. Today, the fraternity has a membership of several thousand individuals all around the globe, who continue to guard the sacred trust of chiropractic. Its national headquarters is located at

Gig Harbor, Washington Gig Harbor () is the name of both a bay on Puget Sound and a city on its shore in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County, Washington (state), Washington. The population was 12,029 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Gig Harbor bills ...

Symbols

The name Delta Sigma Chi (DSC) stands for ''Doctors of Straight Chiropractic''. Its values or pillars are Service, Brotherhood, Accomplishment, Intelligence, Wisdom, Strength, and Commitment. Its colors are red and blue. The fraternity's pledge pin is a blue and gold inverted pentagram with the Greek letters above a

Wyvern The wyvern ( ), sometimes spelled wivern ( ), is a type of mythical dragon with bipedalism, two legs, two wings, and often a pointed tail. The wyvern in its various forms is important in heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools an ...

, a mythical creature. The wyvern was incorporated in the Palmer family crest shown on page 55 of ''The Science of Chiropractic’ (Green Book Volume I'' by B. J. Palmer. It is also used as the crest of the fraternity's coat of arms.

Chapters

Following is an incomplete list of Delta Sigma Chi chapters. Active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters and institutions are in ''italics''.

Chapter houses

The ''Alpha chapter's'' Victorian-style mansion is known as the J. Monroe Parker-Ficke House.Svendsen, Marlys; ''Davenport, Where the Mississippi Runs West''. (1982) Davenport, Iowa Construction began in 1881 and was finished three years later, with 43 rooms. The fraternity purchased the building and its furnishings in 1978. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is located at 1208 Main Street in Davenport, Iowa.

Notable members

Clarence Gonstead Clarence Selmer Gonstead (July 23, 1898 – October 2, 1978) was an American chiropractor. He created the Gonstead technique. He established a large chiropractic facility in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. Early life Clarence Gonstead was born in Willo ...

, chiropractor known for the Gonstead technique * Edgar Howard (honorary),

lieutenant governor of Nebraska The lieutenant governor of Nebraska is the highest-ranking executive official in the State of Nebraska after the Governor of Nebraska, governor. According to the Constitution of Nebraska, Nebraska State Constitution, in the event a governor dies, ...

and the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

* Thomas Morris (honorary),

lieutenant governor of Wisconsin The lieutenant governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Wisconsin, line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, ...

* B. J. Palmer, the "Developer" of chiropractic and president of

References

External links

*
Delta Sigma Chi website for reprinted works
{{Authority control Chiropractic organizations Fraternities and sororities in the United States Student organizations established in 1913 Professional Fraternity Association Professional fraternities and sororities in the United States 1913 establishments in Iowa