Thomas Henry Storey, D.O., D.C. 1843 to 1923

Who was Thomas Henry Storey? Dedicated healer or charlatan? A danger to his patients or hero to the profession? He graduated from the Palmer School and Infirmary of Chiropractic in 1901. One of the largest chiropractic colleges, the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, would be founded by one of his patients in 1910 and incorporated in 1911. He led the founder of chiropractic on his first expedition to Los Angeles. Thomas' seventy-nine year life span took him from Canada through the north central United States to the West Coast from Washington to California and south into Mexico. He was, at various times, a taxidermist, a farmer and, in later years, a rancher. He studied and practiced many types of healing and even operated a chiropractice school for a time. He invented the most ubiquitous of all chiropractic equipment, the bifid table. Whether he desired it or not, Thomas was often thrust into the spotlight, usually under less than admirable circumstances. Even in death, the remnants of his life remained a complicated morass that took sixteen years to resolve in the courts. It is hoped this article will shine some light on a colorful chiropractic pioneer who has been shrouded in a veil of mystery.