A. T. (Andrew Taylor) Still

Born in Virginia in 1828 and raised partly on the American frontier, Andrew Taylor Still followed his father into medicine and ministry. He later practiced as a physician in Missouri and served during the Civil War, experiences that deepened both his medical knowledge and his dissatisfaction with many conventional treatments of the time.

Still is best known as the founder of osteopathy. In the late 19th century, he developed a new approach that emphasized the body's structure, the importance of the musculoskeletal system, and the body's natural ability to support health. In 1892, he founded the American School of Osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri, which helped turn his ideas into a lasting medical movement.

He remained a widely discussed figure in American medicine until his death in 1917. Whether read as a medical pioneer, a dissenter, or both, his work left a lasting mark on the history of healthcare in the United States.