Important Dates in A. A.
Thanks to Nancy O of Virginia for assembling the following information:
January 1:
1943: Columbus Dispatch reports 1st Anniversary of Columbus AA
1946: The A.A. Grapevine increased the cost of a year’s subscription to $2.50.
1948: “Columbus Dispatch” reported first anniversary of Central Ohio A.A. Group.
1948: First A.A. meeting was held in Japan, (English speaking.)
1988: West Virginia A.A. began first statewide toll-free telephone hotline.
January 2:
1889: Bridget Della Mary Gavin (Sister Ignatia) was born in Ireland.
2003: Mid-Southern California Archives moved to new location in Riverside.
January 3:
1939: First sale of Works Publishing Co. stock was recorded.
1941: Jack Alexander told Bill Wilson the Oxford Group would be in his Saturday Evening Post article on A.A.
January 4:
1939: Dr. Bob stated in a letter to Ruth Hock that A.A. had to get away from the Oxford Group atmosphere.
1940: First A.A. group was founded in Detroit, Michigan.
1941: Bill and Lois Wilson drove to Bedford Hills, NY, to see Stepping Stones and broke in through an unlocked window.
January 5:
1939: Dr Bob tells Ruth Hock in a letter that AA has “to get away from the Oxford Group atmosphere”.
1941: Bill and Lois visited Bedford Hills again.
1941: Bill Wilson told Jack Alexander that Jack was “the toast of A. A. — in Coca Cola, of course.”
January 6:
2000: Stephen Poe, compiler of the Concordance to Alcoholics Anonymous, died.
January 7:
1984: “Pass it On” was published on this Dates.
January 8:
1938: New York A.A. split from the Oxford Group.
January 10:
1940: Dr Bob tells Ruth Hock in a letter that AA has “to get away from the Oxford Group atmosphere”.
1940: 1st AA meeting not in a home meets at King School,
Akron, Ohio.
January 12:
1943: Press reported the first A.A. group in Pontiac, Michigan.
January 13:
1988: Jack Norris, M.D., Chairman/Trustees of A.A. for 27 yrs. died.
2003: Dr. Earle Marsh, author of “Physician Heal Thyself,” sober 49 years, died
January 15:
1937: Fitz M brings AA meetings to Washington DC.
1941: A.A. Bulletin No. 2 reported St. Louis group had ten members.
1941: Bill Wilson asked Ruth Hock to get him “spook book,” “The Unobstructed Universe.”
1945: First AA meeting held in Springfield, Missouri.
1945: First A.A. meeting held in Springfield, Missouri.
1948: Polk Health Center Alcoholic Clinic for Negroes started operations with 14 willing subjects. The Washington Black Group of A.A. cooperated with the clinic.
January 17:
1919: 18th amendment, “Prohibition,” became law.
January 19:
1940: First A.A. group met in Detroit, Mich.
1943: Canadian newspaper reported eight men met at “Little Denmark,” a Toronto restaurant, to discuss starting Canada’s first A.A. group.
1943: 1st discussion for starting AA group in Toronto.
1943: Wilson’s returned from 1st major A.A. tour started in Oct 24 1943.
1999: Frank M., A.A. Archivist since 1983, died.
January 20:
1954: Hank Parkhurst, author of “The Unbeliever” in the first edition of the Big Book, died in Pennington, NJ.
January 21:
1951: A.A. Grapevine published memorial issue on Dr. Bob.
1954: Hank P who helped Bill start NY office dies in
Pennington, New Jersey.
January 23:
1961: Bill W. sent an appreciation letter, which he considered long-overdue, to Dr. Carl Jung for his contribution to A.A.
January 24:
1918: Bill Wilson and Lois Burnham were married, days before he was sent to Europe in WW I.
1945: 1st black group St. Louis
1971: Bill Wilson died in Miami, Florida, only weeks after sending a postcard to Senator Harold Hughes of Iowa, saying he wanted to live long enough to see Hughes become President.
January 25:
1915: Dr. Bob Smith married Anne Ripley.
January 26:
1971: New York Times published Bill Wilson’s obituary on page 1.
January 27:
1971: The Washington Post published an obituary of Bill Wilson written by Donald Graham, son of the owner of the Washington Post.
January 30:
1961: Dr. Carl Jung answers Bill’s letter with “Spiritus Contra Spiritum.”
Other significant things that happened in January (no specific Dates available):
1938: Jim Burwell, author of “The Vicious Cycle,” a former atheist, gave A.A. “God as we understand Him.”
1939: 400 copies of manuscript of Big Book circulated
for comment, evaluation and sale.
1940: First AA meeting not in a home meets at Kings School, Akron, Ohio.
1942: “Drunks are Square Pegs” was published.
1944: Dr. Harry Tiebout’s first paper on the subject of
“Alcoholics Anonymous”.
1944: onset of Bill’s 11 years of depression.
1946: Readers Digest does a story on AA.
1948: 1st A.A. meeting in Japan
1951: The A.A. Grapevine published a memorial issue on Dr. Bob.
1984: “Pass It On,” the story of Bill W. and how the A.A. message reached the world, was published.
February 1:
1918: Original Dates set for Bill Wilson’s marriage to Lois Burnham. The Dates was moved up because of the war.
1942: Ruth Hock, AA’s 1st paid secretary, resigns to get married
February 2:
1942: Bill Wilson paid tribute to Ruth Hock, AA’s first paid secretary, who resigned to get married. She had written approximately 15,000 letters to people asking for help
February 5:
1941: Pittsburgh Telegram ran a story on the first AA group’s Friday night meeting of a dozen “former hopeless drunks.”
February 8:
1940: Bill W., Dr. Bob, and six other AA’s asked 60 rich friends of John D. Rockefeller Jr., for money at the Union Club, NY. They got $2,000.
1940: Houston Press ran first of 6 anonymous articles on A.A. by Larry J.
February 9:
2002: Sue Smith Windows, Dr. Bob’s daughter died.
February 10:
1922: Harold E. Hughes was born on a farm near Ida Grove, Iowa. After his recovery from alcoholism, he became Governor of Iowa, a United States Senator, and the leading dark horse for the Presidential Democratic nomination in 1972, until he announced he would not run. He authored the legislation which created the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and other legislation to help alcoholics and addicts.
February 11:
1938: Clarence Snyder (“Home Brewmeister” in 1st, 2nd & 3rd editions) had his last drink.
February 12:
1945: World War II paper shortage forced reduction in size of the Big Book.
February 13:
1937: Oxford Groups “Alcoholic Squadron” met at the home of Hank Parkhurst (“The Unbeliever” in the 1st edition of the Big Book) in New Jersey.
1940: With about two years of sobriety, Jim Burwell (“The Vicious Cycle”) moved to the Philadelphia area and started the first Philadelphia A.A. group.
February 14:
1971: AA groups worldwide held a memorial service for Bill Wilson.
2000: William Y., “California Bill” died in Winston Salem, NC.
February 15:
1918: Sue Smith Windows, Dr. Bob’s adopted daughter, was born.
1941: Baltimore Sunday Sun reported that the city’s first AA group, begun in June 1940, had grown from 3 to 40 members.
1946: AA Tribune, Des Moines, IA, reported 36 new members since Marty Mann had been there.
February 16:
1941: Baltimore Sunday Sun reported city’s first AA group begun in 1940 had grown from 3 to 40 members, with five being women.
February 18:
1943: AA’s were granted the right to use cars for 12th step work in emergency cases, despite gas rationing.
February 19:
1967: Father “John Doe” (Ralph Pfau), 1st Catholic Priest in AA, died.
February 20:
1941: The Toledo Blade published first of three articles on AA by Seymour Rothman.
February 21:
1939: 400 copies of the Big Book manuscript were sent to doctors, judges, psychiatrists, and others for comment. This was the “multilith” Big Book.
February 22:
1842: Abe Lincoln addressed the Washington Temperance Society in Springfield, IL.
February 23:
1959: AA granted “Recording for the Blind” permission to
tape the Big Book.
February 24:
2002: Hal Marley, “Dr. Attitude of Gratitude,” died. He had 37 years of sobriety. Hal testified, anonymously, before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse on December 3, 1970.
February 26:
1999: Felicia Gizycka, author of “Stars Don’t Fall,” died. Born Countess Felicia Gizycka in 1905, she was the daughter of Count Josef Gizycki and Eleanor Medill Patterson. She married Drew Pearson in 1925 and divorced him three years later. She married Dudley de Lavigne in 1934, but the marriage lasted less than a year. In 1958 she married John Kennedy Magruder and divorced him in 1964. For most of her professional career, she went by the name Felicia Gizycka.
February 28:
1940: First organization meeting of Philadelphia AA was held at McCready Huston’s room at 2209 Delancy Street.
Other February happenings for which I have no specific Dates:
1908: Bill Wilson made boomerang.
1916: Bill Wilson & sophomore class at Norwich University was suspended for hazing.
1938: Rockefeller gave $5,000 to AA.
1939: Dr. Harry Tiebout endorsed AA, the first psychiatrist to do so.
1939: Dr Howard of Montclair, NJ suggests swapping “you musts”
for “we ought” in the Big Book.
1940: First organization meeting of Philadelphia AA is held at McCready Hustona’s room at 2209 Delaney Street.
1940: 1st AA clubhouse opened at 334-1/2 West 24th Street, NYC.
1941:
1943: San Francisco Bulletin reporter Marsh Masline interviewed Ricardo, a San Quentin Prison AA group member.
1946: Baton Rouge, La., AA’s hold their first anniversary meeting.
1946: The AA Grapevine reported the New York Seaman’s Group issued a pamphlet for seamen “on one page the 12 Steps have been streamlined into 5.”
1946: Des Moines Committee for Education on Alcoholism aired its first show on KRNT.
1946: Pueblo. Colorado, had a second group, composed of alcoholic State Hospital patients.
1951: Fortune magazine article about AA was published in pamphlet form.
1959: AA granted “Recording for the Blind” permission to tape the Big Book.
1963: Harpers carried article critical of AA.
1981: 1st issue of “Markings,” AA Archives Newsletter, was published, “to give the Fellowship a sense of its own past and the opportunity to study it.”
March 1:
1939: Readers Digest failed to write promised article on AA.
1941: Saturday Evening Post article by Jack Alexander created national sensation. AA membership quadrupled in one year from 2000 to 8000.
March 3:
1947: Nell Wing, Bill’s secretary and first archivist of AA, began her career at Alcoholic Foundation Office at 415 Lexington Avenue.
March 4:
1891: Lois Wilson was born.
March 5:
1945: Time Magazine reported Detroit radio broadcasts of AA members.
March 7:
1940: Bill and Lois visited the Philadelphia AA group.
1941: Boston newspaper reported that any drunk who wanted
to get well was more than welcome at the AA meeting at 115 Newbury St., at 8 PM Wednesdays.
March 9:
1941: Wichita Beacon reported AA member from NY who wanted to form a group in Wichita, Kansas.
March 10:
1944: New York Intergroup was established.
March 11:
1947: A Priest in St. Paul, Minnesota, founded Calix International. Alcoholics in his parish met after Saturday morning Mass to discuss the readings for the upcoming Sunday and how their faith melded with the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.
March 12:
1940: Ebby Thatcher, Bill Wilson’s boyhood friend and sponsor, was reported sober again.
March 14:
1941: South Orange, NJ, AA held an anniversary dinner at the Hotel Suburban with Bill Wilson as the guest speaker.
March 15:
1941: 1st AA group was formed in New Haven, Connecticut.
March 16:
1940: Bill moved the Alcoholic Foundation office to 30 Vesey St., NY. (30 Vesey St., NY, was almost destroyed on September 11, 2001.)
March 18:
1951: Cliff W. was elected 1st delegate from Southern California.
March 21:
1881: Anne Ripley, Dr. Bob’s wife, was born.
1966: Ebby Thatcher, Bill Wilson’s sponsor, died sober.
March 22:
1951: Dr. William Duncan Silkworth died at Towns Hospital.
1984: Clarence Snyder, founder of Cleveland AA and author of “Home Brewmeister,” died at 81, 46 years sober.
March 23:
1936: Bill & Lois Wilson visited Fitz Mayo, “Our Southern Friend,” in Maryland.
1941: Sybil C.’s sobriety Dates. She was the first woman to enter AA west of the Mississippi.
March 25:
1898: Jim B. ({“The Vicious Cycle”) was born
1965: Richmond Walker, author of “Twenty-Four Hours a Day” book, died at age 72, almost 23 years sober.
2005: Nancy Olson, Founder of AAHL- See Memorial at:
http://hindsfoot.org/nomem1.htm
March 29:
1943: The Charleston Mail, WV, reported that Bill Wilson had given a talk at St. John’s Parish House.
March 31:
1947: 1st AA group was formed in London, England.
Other events in March, for which I have no exact Dates:
1936: AA had 10 members staying sober. At end of 1936 A.A.
had 15 members.
1938: Bill begins writing the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Works Publishing Inc established to support writing and printing of
the book.
1940: Mort J. came to LA from Denver; started custom of
reading Chapter 5 Big Book at Cecil group.
1941: Second printing of Big Book.
1941: 1st Prison AA Group formed at San Quentin.
1945: March of Time film was produced and supervised by E.M. Jellinek and produced by NY AA office
1946: The Jefferson Barracks AA Group in Missouri was formed. It is thought to be the first ever in a military installation.
1949: Dr. Bob considers idea of AA conference premature.
1951: American Weekly publishes memorial article for Dr. Bob.
April 1:
1939 – Alcoholics Anonymous AA’s Big Book was published.
1940: Larry J. of Houston, wrote “The Texas Prayer”, used
to open AA meetings in Texas.
1940 – Larry J. of Houston, wrote The Texas Preamble used to open AA meetings in Texas.
1966 – Sister Ignatia died at the age of 77. She worked with Dr. Bob in treating many early AA members at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron.
1970: GSO moved to 468 Park Ave. South, NYC.
1984 – 12 Coconuts Group, Kapiolani Park, Waikiki, Hawaii, was founded.
April 2
1966: Harry Tiebout, M.D. died.
April 3:
1941 – First Florida AA meeting was held.
1960: Fr. Ed Dowling, S.J., died. He was Bill W’s “spiritual sponsor.”
April 4:
1960 – The Chicago Daily News reported that Fr. Edward Dowling, Jesuit Priest who helped start the first AA group in St. Louis, had died at age 62.
April 7:
1941 – Ruth Hock reported there were 1,500 letters asking for help, as a result of the Saturday Evening Post Article by Jack Alexander.
April 10:
1939 – The first ten copies of the Big Book arrived at the office Bill shared with Hank Parkhurst in Newark, New Jersey.
April 11:
1938 – Alcoholic Foundation held its first meeting.
1939 – Marty Mann attended her first meeting a the home of Bill and Lois Wilson in Brooklyn.
1941 – Bill and Lois Wilson moved into their new home, Stepping Stones.
April 12:
1942 – The Windsor Daily Star in Ontario, Canada, reported that over 400 AA’s attended a testimonial dinner for Dr. Bob.
April 16:
1940 – A sober Rollie Helmsley caught the only opening day no-hitter in baseball history since 1909.
1973 – Dr Jack Norris Chairman of the AA General Service Board, presented President Richard Nixon with the one-millionth copy of the Big Book at the White House.
2005 – Nancy Flynn (Independent Blond died in Kennett Square PA
April 17:
1941 – 2nd group in Los Angeles, the “Hole in the Ground Group” was formed.
April 19:
1940 – First AA group in Little Rock, Arkansas, was formed.
April 22:
1940: Bill Wilson transferred his Works Publishing Stock to the Alcoholic Foundation. The Dates on which Hank Parkhurst transferred his stock is uncertain.
April 23:
1940 – Dr. Bob wrote the Trustees to refuse Big Book royalties, but Bill Wilson insisted on them for Dr. Bob and Anne.
April 24:
1989 – Dr. Leonard Strong died. He was Bill’s brother-in-law and an AA Trustee.
1940: The first AA pamphlet, “AA”, was published.
April 25:
1939: Morgan R interviewed on Gabriel Heatter radio show.
1951 – AA’s first General Service Conference was held.
April 26:
1939 – Bill & Lois Wilson moved in with Hank Parkhurst after the bank foreclosed on 182 Clinton St. This was the first of over 50 moves before they acquired Stepping Stones.
April 30:
1989 – The film “My Name is Bill W.,” a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, was broadcast at 9 p.m. on ABC TV.
Other April events for which we have no specific dates:
1935: Dr. Silkworth told Bill to quit preaching at drunks &
tell them of obsession & allergy.
1940 – The “Texas Preamble” used to open meetings in Texas, was written by Larry J. of Houston.
1940 – The first AA pamphlet was published, entitled simply: “AA.”
1950: Saturday Evening Post article “The Drunkard’s Best
Friend” by Jack Alexander.
1958 – The word “honest” was dropped from “an honest desire to top drinking,” in the AA Preamble.
1960 – Bill Wilson refused to be on the cover of Time Magazine.
1966: Change in ratio of trustees of the General Service
Board; now two thirds (majority) are alcoholic.
1988 – Cybil C., the first woman member in Los Angeles and archivist, died.
May 1
1939 – Lois and Bill Wilson left their home at 182 Clinton St., Brooklyn.
1940: Rollie H, Cleveland Indians, first anonymity break on national level.
1941 – First Wisconsin AA meeting was held in a Milwaukee hotel.
May 2
1941 – Jacksonville, FL, newspaper reported start of a new AA group.
1941 – First meeting was held in San Bernardino, California.
1941: The first AA group in New Orleans, Louisiana, was formed. (sometimes dated as May 2, 1943) by New Orleans Times
May 3
1941 – First AA group formed in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1943 – Democrat Chronicle in Rochester, NY, reported first annual AA dinner at Seneca Hotel with 60 attending.
May 4
1940: Sunday Star reported founding of first AA group in Washington, DC.
1946 – Marty Mann explained Alcoholics Anonymous and the National Committee for Education on Alcoholism on the “We the People” radio show.
May 5
1940 – Washington, DC, Sunday Star reported formation of first AA group in the District of Columbia.
May 6
1939: Clarence S of Cleveland told Dr. Bob, his sponsor, he
would not be back to Oxford Group meetings in Akron and would start an “AA” meeting in Cleveland.
1946: The long form of the “Twelve Traditions” was published
in the AA Grapevine.
May 7
1956 – The first English AA Convention was held in Cheltenham, England.
May 8
1943 – Akron AA group had its 8th anniversary celebration with 500 present and sober.
1971 – Bill Wilson was buried in private ceremony, East Dorset, Vermont.
May 10
1939: Clarence S announced to the Akron Oxford Group members
that the Cleveland members were starting a meeting in Cleveland and calling it Alcoholics Anonymous.
1946 – Searcy W. had his last drink. (Searcy died September 30, 2003.)
May 11
1935 – From the Mayflower Hotel, Bill Wilson called Walter Tunks who referred him to Henrietta Seiberling who introduced Bill to Dr. Bob.
1939: Ffirst group to officially call itself Alcoholics Anonymous met at Abby G’s house in Cleveland. (some sources say the 18th)
May 12
1935 – Mothers’ Day – Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith met for the first time in Akron, Ohio, at the home of Henrietta Seiberling.
May 14
1948 – Long Beach, California. Central Office was opened.
1998 – Sybil C., first woman to enter A.A. west of the Mississippi, died. Her Dates of sobriety was March 23, 1941. Her name at the time was Sybil Maxwell, though she later opened her talks by saying, “My name is Sybil Doris Adams Stratton Hart Maxwell Willis C., and I’m an alcoholic.”
May 15
1961 – Bill Wilson’s mother, Dr. Emiliy Strobell, died.
May 16
1941 – Ruth Hock learned that Joe W. (credited with coming up with the name Alcoholics Anonymous) had a “wet brain.”
May 17
1942 – The Journal-Herald in Dayton, Ohio, ran a story on A.A. with photos of members in Halloween masks to protect their anonymity.
1942: New Haven, Conn paper has article on AA. Picture shows
faces of members sitting in a circle.
May 18
1950 – Dr. Bob told Bill “I reckon we ought to be buried like other folks” after hearing that local A.A.’s wanted a huge memorial.
May 19
2000 – Dr. Paul Ohliger died at the age of 83. His story, “Doctor, Alcoholic, Addict,” was retitled “Acceptance Was the Answer,” in the 4th edition.
May 22
1948 – Atlantic City Group celebrated its second anniversary with Dr. C. Nelson Davis of St. Luke’s Hospital, Philadelphia, and other A.A.s speaking.
May 28
1974 – The first World Service meeting of AA outside of America was held in London.
May 29
1980 – “Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers,” AAWS biography of AA co-founder and a history of early Mid-west AA, was published.
May 31
1938 – Bill and other AA’s began writing the Big Book.
Other May events for which we have no specific Dates:
1919: Bill returns home from service.
1935: Bill works with alcoholics, but fails to sober any of them. Lois reminds him HE is still sober.
1938: Bill begins writing the book Alcoholics Anonymous.
1939 – Clarence Snyder told Dr. Bob, his sponsor, he would not be back to the Oxford Group meetings in Akron and would start an “A.A.” meeting in Cleveland.
1939: Lois W Home Replacement Fund started at Alcoholic
Foundation
1942 – Richmond Walker, author of “Twenty-Four Hours a Day,” had his last drink.
1946 – Long Form of Twelve Traditions was published in the AA Grapevine.
1946 – The AA Grapevine announced: “AA has 6,000 members in 180 groups.”
1947 – Avalon, California (Catalina Island Group) was formed.
1948 – The AA Grapevine reported $2.00 was sent to the General Service headquarters of AA in New York, asking for a bottle of Alcoholics Anonymous.
1949: The first AA meetings in Scotland were held in Glasgow and
Edinburgh.
1950: Nell Wing became Bill W’s secretary.
1951 – Al-Anon was founded by Lois Wilson and Anne B.
June 1:
1949 – Anne Smith, Dr. Bob’s wife, died.
June 4:
2002- Caroline Knapp, author of “Drinking: A Love Story” died sober of lung cancer.
June 5:
1940 – Ebby Thatcher took a job at the NY Worlds Fair.
June 6:
1940 – The first AA Group in Richmond, VA, was formed.
1979 – AA gave the two-millionth copy of the Big Book to Joseph Califano, then Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. It was presented by Lois Wilson, Bill’s wife, in New York.
June 7:
1939 – Bill and Lois Wilson had an argument, the first of two times Bill almost slipped.
1941 – The first AA Group in St. Paul, Minnesota, was formed.
June 8:
1941 – Three AA’s started a group in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
June 10:
1935 – The Dates that is celebrated as Dr. Bob’s last drink and the official founding Dates of AA. There is some evidence that the founders, in trying to reconstruct the history, got the Dates wrong and it was actually June 17.
June 11:
1945 – Twenty-five hundred attend AA’s 10th Anniversary in Cleveland, Ohio.
1969 – Dr. Bob’s granddaughter, Bonna, daughter of Sue Smith and Ernie Galbraith (The Seven Month Slip in the First Edition) killed herself after first killing her six-year-old child.
1971 – Ernie Galbraith died.
June 13:
1945 – Morgan R. gave a radio appearance for AA with large audience. He was kept under surveillance to make sure he didn’t drink.
June 15:
1940 – First AA Group in Baltimore, MD, was formed.
June 16:
1938 – Jim Burwell, “The Vicious Cycle” in Big Book, had his last drink.
June 17:
1942 – New York AA groups sponsored the first annual NY area meeting. Four hundred and twenty-four heard Dr. Silkworth and AA speakers.
June 18:
1940 – One hundred attended the first meeting in the first AA clubhouse at 334-1/2 West 24th St., New York City.
June 19:
1942 – Columnist Earl Wilson reported that NYC Police Chief Valentine sent six policemen to AA and they sobered up. “There are fewer suicides in my files,” he commented.
June 21:
1944 – The first Issue of the AA Grapevine was published.
June 24:
1938 – Two Rockefeller associates told the press about the Big Book “Not to bear any author’s name but to be by ‘Alcoholics Anonymous.'”
June 25:
1939 – The New York Times reviewer wrote that the Big Book is “more soundly based psychologically than any other treatment I have ever come upon.”
June 26:
1935 – Bill Dotson. (AA #3) entered Akron’s City Hospital for his last detox and his first day of sobriety.
June 28:
1935 – Dr. Bob and Bill Wilson visited Bill Dotson at Akron’s City Hospital.
June 30:
1941 – Ruth Hock showed Bill Wilson the Serenity Prayer and it was adopted readily by AA.
2000 – More than 47,000 from 87 countries attended the opening meeting of the 65th AA Anniversary in Minneapolis, MN.
Other significant events in June for which we have no specific Dates:
1948 – A subscription to the AA Grapevine was donated to the Beloit, Wisconsin, Public Library by a local AA member.
1981 – AA in Switzerland held its 25th Anniversary Convention with Lois Wilson and Nell Wing in attendance.
June 29- July 2:
1995 – 56,000 attend 60th Anniversary of AA in San Diego. What a party!
July 1-3:
1960 – 8700 attend 25th Anniversary of AA in Long Beach, CA
July 2
1965 – Best of Bill and Pocket-Sized 12 and 12 1st sold
1965 – 1st La Vigne, Canadian Grapevine Published
1993 – 50 years of AA celebrated in Canada
2000 – 20 Millionth Big Book given to Al-Anon in Minneapolis
July 2-3:
1955 – Bill W turns “the fellowship over to the fellowship” at 4:00 PM,5000 attend 20th Anniversary at our St Louis Convention
July 2-4:
1965 – 10,000 attend 30th Anniversary of AA in Toronto. There we came to own our Responsibility Declaration
July 4:
1939 – 1st AA meeting started in Flatbush, NY
July 3-5:
1970 – 10,900 attend 35th Anniversary of AA in Miami. Bill W gave his last talk to AA
July 3-6:
1980 – 22,500 attend 45th Anniversary of AA in New Orleans First true marathon meeting was held here
July 4:
1999 – He who has a fifth on the fourth may not come forth on the fifth…
July 4-6:
1975 – 19,800 attend 40th Anniversary of AA in Denver Worlds largest coffee server serves 1/2 million cups a day
July 5:
1985 – AA gives Ruth Hock 5,000,000th Big Book during 50th AA Anniversary in Montreal, Canada
1990 – AA gives Nell Wing 10,000,000th Big Book during 55th AA Anniversary in Seattle, WA
July 3-6:
1980 – Gay AA’s have own program at 40th AA Anniversary in New Orleans
July 5-7:
1985 – 45,000 attend 50th Anniversary of AA in Montreal. House of Seagrams flew their flags at half mast for 3 days
July 7:
1940 – Bill attends 1st Summer Session at School of Alcohol Studies at Yale University
July 5-8:
1990 – 48,000 attend 55th Anniversary of AA in Seattle. 75 countries were represented as the former Soviet Unions members attended for the first time
July 8:
1940 – 1st AA Group formed in Dayton, Ohio
July 10:
1941 – Texas newspaper publishes anonymous letter from founding member of Texas AA Group
July 14:
1939 – Blythewood Sanitarium Dr Harry Tiebout gives Big Book to Marty M. who promptly throws it back at him
July 14:
1979 – Dr. Ernest Kurtz publishes NOT-GOD, History of AA
July 16:
1965 – Frank Amos AA Trustee dies
July 20:
1941 – First AA group formed in Seattle, Washington
July 22:
1877 – Willian Duncan Silkworth born in Brooklyn, NY
1980 – Marty M. early AA woman and founder of NCADD dies
July 23:
1940 – Philly AA’s send 10% of kitty to Alcoholic Foundation, sets precedent
1943 – New Haven Register CT reports arrival of AA’s to study with E. M. Jellinek
1943 Esther C., passed Jan 15, 2005, sober since July 23, 1943.
July 24:
1943 – L.A. press reports formation of all-Mexican AA Group
July 28-30:
1950 – 1st AA Convention celebrates 15th anniversary of AA in Cleveland
July 31:
1972 – Rollie H dies sober in Washington DC – July 31, 1972
August1:
1946 – Washington Times-Herald (DC) reports on AA clubhouse, to protect members anonymity, withholds address
August 3:
1954 – Brinkley S. gets sober at Towns Hosp after 50th detox
August 3:
1989 – Liberty Bell Group founded in Lake Elsinore, CA – August 3, 1989
August 8:
1879 – Dr Bob S. is born in St Johnsbury, Vermont
August 9:
1890 – After Annual Picnic for 400, LA groups announce 1000 members in 11 groups
August 11:
1938 – Akron & NY members begin writing stories for Big Book
August 15:
1890 – E. M. Jellinek is born, author of The Disease Concept of Alcoholism and the Jellinek Curve
August 16:
1939 – Dr Bob and Sister Ignatia admit 1st alcoholic to St Thomas Hospital, Akron, Ohio
August 18:
1988 – 1st Canadian National AA Convention in Halifax, Nova Scotia
August 19:
1941 – 1st AA Meeting in Colorado is held in Denver
August 25:
1943 – AA group donates Big Book to public library in Quincy, MA
August 26:
1941 – Bill writes Dr Bob to tell him Works Publishing has been incorporated
August 28:
1954 – 24 Hours a Day is published by Richmond Walker
Other significant events in August for which we have no specific Dates:
1934: Rowland H and Cebra persuade court to parole Ebby T. to them.
1939: Dr. Bob wrote & may have signed article for Faith magazine.
1941 – 1st meeting in Orange County, California held in Anaheim
1981 – -Sales of the Big Book passes 3,000,000
September 1:
1939 – 1st AA group founded in Chicago
September 5
1907 – Nancy Flynn, author of “Independent Blond” born
September 11:
2001 – 30 Vesey St, New York, AA’s first Office is damaged during the World Trade Center attack
2001 – Father Mychal J., September 15, 1979 Died sober in the World Trade Center attack
September 12:
1942 – U.S. Assist. Surgeon General Kolb speaks at dinner for Bill and Dr Bob
September 13:
1937 – Florence R, 1st female in AA in NY
September 13:
1941 – WHJP in Jacksonville, FL airs Spotlight on AA
September 17:
1954: Bill D, AA #3 dies.
September 18:
1947 – Dallas Central Office opens its doors
September 19:
1965: The Saturday Evening Post publishes article “Alcoholics Can Be Cured – Despite AA”
1975 – Jack Alexander, author of Saturday Evening Post article, dies
September 21:
1938 – Bill W & Hank P form Works Publishing Co
September 24:
1940 – Bill 12 steps Bobbie V who replaced Ruth Hock as his secretary in NY
September 30:
!939 – Morris Markey runs story on AA, Alcoholics and God in Liberty Magazine
September 30:
1975 – Bill W a biography by Robert T is published
September 30:
2003 – Searcy W. died today, sober 20,962 days in a row
Other significant events in September for which we have no specific Dates:
1930: Bill wrote 4th (last) promise in family Bible to quit drinking.
1939: Group started by Earl T in Chicago.
1940: AA group started in Toledo by Duke P & others.
1940: Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases gives Big Book unfavorable review.
1946: Bill & Dr. Bob both publicly endorsed National Committee Education Alcoholism founded by Marty M.
1946: 1st A.A. group in Mexico.
1948: Bob writes article for Grapevine on AA “Fundamentals – In Retrospect”.
1948: 1st issue of Grapevine published in “pocketbook” size
1946 – 1st AA group in Mexico City is formed
October 1:
1941 – Local news reports 1st AA Group in New Haven, CT
October 1:
1957 – Alcoholics Anonymous book A. A. Comes of Age is published
October 2:
1944 – National Committee for Education on Alcoholism formed by Marty Mann – later to become “National council on Alcoholism.”
October 3:
1945 – AA Grapevine adopted as national publication of AA
October 5-7
1972: 2nd World Service meeting held in New York.
October 6:
1941 – 900 dine at Cleveland dinner for Bill D, AA #3
October 5:
1988 – Lois W, Bills wife and a co-founder of Al-Anon, dies at age 97
October 8:
1988 – Memorial Service for Lois Wilson at Stepping Stones, NY
October 9-11
1969: 1st World Service meeting held in New York with
delegates from 14 countries.
October 10:
1943 – 6 of 1st 9 AA’s attend clubhouse anniv. in Toledo
October 10:
1970 – Lois reads “Bills Last Message” annual dinner in NY
October 10:
1988 – Lois is buried next to Bill in Manchester, Vermont
October 13:
1939 – Bill W. gets his drivers license
October 13:
1947 – “The Melbourne Group” held its first meeting in Australia
October 14
1939: Journal of American Medical Association gives Big Book unfavorable review.
October 15:
1904 – Marty M, early AA woman, is born in Chicago
October 17:
1935 – Ebby T, Bills sponsor, moves in with Bill and Lois
October 20:
1928: Bill wrote promise to Lois in family Bible to quit drinking. By Thanksgiving added second promise.
October 21:
1939 – Cleveland Plain Dealer begins series on AA by Eldrick B. Davis
October 22:
1963 – E M Jellinek, alcoholism educator and AA friend dies
1949 – Florence R, AA’s 1st sober woman, begins drinking again, commits suicide
October 24:
1942 – L.A. Times reports AA groups in 14 California cities
October 24:
1943: Wilson’s start 1st major A.A. tour, returned Jan 19, 1944.
1973 – Trustee’s Archives Committee of AA has its 1st meeting
October 28:
1994 – National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence celebrates 50 years
Other significant events in October for which we have no specific Dates:
1936 – Bill C. a Canadian alkie staying at Bill’s house, committed suicide using a gas stove.
1939: 1st central committee formed in Cleveland; 1st example A.A. rotation.
1942 – 1st issue of Cleveland Central Bulletin is published
1944 – First non American branch started in Sydney, Australia by Father T V Dunlea & Rex.
1951 – Lasker Award presented to AA in San Francisco
1951 – Sister Ignatia wrote “Care of Alcoholics – St.Thomas Hospital & A.A. Started Movement Which Swept Country” article in “Hospital Progress” the journal of Catholic Hospital Association.
1954 – The “Alcoholic Foundation” renamed the “General Service Board of A.A.”
1958 – Playhouse 90 TV airs “The Days of Wine and Roses”
November 1:
1947 – 1st AA Group in Anchorage, Alaska
November 1:
1963 – Reverend Sam Shoemaker dies
November 3:
2001 – J.P. Miller, wrote screenplay for “The Days of Wine and Roses” died
November 9:
1966 – President Johnson appoints Marty M to the 1st National Advisory Committee on Alcoholism
November 10:
1940 – 1st AA group formed in Minneapolis
November 10:
2001 – 1st of 400,000 4th Edition Big Books arrives in the mail
November 11:
1934 – Bill W’s final drunk begins on Veterans Day and lasts about a month
November 12:
1940 – 1st AA meeting is held in Boston
November 13:
1939 – Bill wants to go back to work, NY drunks want him to stay on as head of the movement November 13, 1939
November 14:
1940 – Alcoholic Foundation publishes 1st AA Bulletin
November 15:
1949 – Bill W suggests that groups devote Thanksgiving week to discussions of the 12 Traditions
November 16:
1950 – Dr Bob S dies in Akron, Ohio
November 18
1946 – 1st Dublin Ireland group met.
November 21:
1939 – AA’s in San Francisco hold 1st California AA meeting in the Clift Hotel –
November 21:
1952 – Willard Richardson, past Treasurer/Chairman of Alcoholic Foundation, dies
November 26:
1895 – William Griffith W. born, East Dorset, VT
1939 – Hank P writes Bill advocating autonomy for all AA groups
1939 – Dilworth Lupton gave sermon “Mr. X and Alcoholics Anonymous”. Became one of first pamphlets on AA.
November 28
1934 – Ebby T. carries message to Bill.
1936 – Fitz M leaves Towns Hospital to become ‘AA #3 in NY’, with Bill W and Hank P.
1937 – Bill and Dr. Bob compare notes in Akron. Count forty cases staying sober. Meeting of the Akron Group to consider Bill’s ideas for how to expand the movement … a book, AA hospitals, paid missionaries. Passed by a majority of 2.
1939 – Akron group withdrawals from association with Oxford
Group. Meetings moved from T Henry & Clarence Williams to Dr Bob and other members homes.
1939 – Hank P writes Bill advocating autonomy for all AA groups.
1943 – Bill guest speaker San Quentin Penitentiary. (sometimes dated Dec 2, 1943)
Other significant events in November for which we have no specific Dates:
1936 – Fitz M leaves Towns Hospital to become AA #3 in NY with Bill W and Hank P.
1941 – “First Mass AA Meeting” in Oklahoma City, 8 present, 1 was drunk
1945 – Bill’s article called ‘Those Goof Balls’ published in Grapevine.
1986 – The Big Book is published in paperback
December 1:
1940 – Chicago Daily Tribune begins a series of articles on AA by Nall Hamilton
December 2:
1943 – Bill speaks to 300 at meeting inside San Quentin
December 5:
1985 – Dave B, founder of Montreal Group dies weeks before 50th anniversary Now his story is in the 4th Edition Big Book.
December 6:
1939 – Bert the Tailor lends Works Publishing $1000
1979 – Akron Beacon reports death of Henrietta Sieberling
December 7:
1949 – Sister Ignatia accepts Poverello Medal of St Francis on AA’s behalf
December 8:
1997 – “AsWeSeeIt” emailing list started December 8, 1997
December 10:
1975 – “Birds of a Feather” AA group for pilots is formed
1934 – Bill admitted to Towns Hosp 4th/last time (fall ’33, ’34 in summer, midsummer and final admittance).
1941 – Dallas Morning News reports 1st AA group formed in Dallas
December 12:
1934 – Bill has Spiritual Experience at Towns Hospital
December 12:
1937 – Bill meets with Rockefeller Foundation and tries to get money
December 13:
1934 – Ebby visited Bill at hospital, brought William James’s book, “Varieties of Religious Experience”.
1937 – Rockland State Mental Hospital takes patients to meeting in New Jersey
December 19:
1939 – Drunks in Los Angeles hold their 1st AA meeting there
December 20:
1945 – Rowland Hazard dies (he carried the Oxford Group message to Ebby)
December 27:
1893 – Rev Samuel Shoemaker is born
Other significant events in December for which we have no specific Dates:
1934 – Bill & Lois start attending Oxford Group meetings.
1938 – Using Oxford Group principles, Bill closes the loopholes and changes the 6 steps to 12.
1939 – First AA group in mental institution, Rockland State Hospital, NY.
1939 – 1st home meeting in Los Angeles at Kaye M.’s house.
1939 – Matt Talbot Club has 88 members, uses wagons to collect old furniture to recondition & sell, not A.A., used A.A. program, material, marked 1st effort reach alcoholics outside married middle-class category.
1940 – 1st AA group formed in St. Louis, Missouri
1940 – group started Ashtabula, Ohio due to Plain Dealer articles – Dates unkown. A.A. Cleveland has about 30 groups.
1948 – Dr. Bob’s last major talk, in Detroit.
1950 – Grapevine article signed by both Bill and Dr Bob recommend establishing AA General Service Conference.
1955 – ‘Man on the Bed’ painting by Robert M. first appeared in
Grapevine. Painting originally called ‘Came to Believe’
1982 – Nell Wing retires from GSO after 35 years of service