Osteopathy History : In the late 1800s a doctor named Andrew Taylor Still developed the field of osteopathic medicine and is considered its founder. Through his experience with patients and research, he decided there was a better way to treat patients than the medical practices of the time. Because his new ideas were not accepted in the medical community, he established a new philosophy of medicine in 1874 called "Osteopathy." Dr. Still opened the first school for osteopathic medicine, the American School of Osteopathy, in 1892 in Kirksville, Missouri.