A.A. History Timeline

by | May 5, 2024 | AA History, Archives

On This Date in A.A. History

A.A. History in January

January 1
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 the 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 W. 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 W. drove to Bedford Hills, NY, to see Stepping Stones and broke in through an unlocked window.
January 5
1941: Bill and Lois visited Bedford Hills again.
1941: Bill W. told Jack Alexander that Jack was “the toast of A.A. — in Coca Cola, of course.”
January 6
2000: Stephen P., compiler of the Concordance to Alcoholics Anonymous, died.
January 8
1938: New York A.A. split from the Oxford Group.
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 M., author of Physician Heal Thyself, sober 9 years, died
January 15
1941: A.A. Bulletin No. 2 reported St. Louis group had ten members.
1941: Bill W. asked Ruth Hock to get him the “spook book, The Unobstructed Universe.
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.
1999: Frank M., A.A. Archivist since 1983, died.
January 20
1954: Hank P., 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.
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 W. and Lois Burnham were married, days before he was sent to Europe in WW I, 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 S. married Anne Ripley.
January 26
1971: New York Times published Bill’s obituary on page 1.
January 27
1971: The Washington Post published an obituary of Bill W. 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 date available):
1938: Jim B., author of The Vicious Cycle, a former atheist, gave A.A. “God as we understand Him.”
1940: First AA meeting not in a home meets at Kings School, Akron, Ohio.
1942: Drunks are Square Pegs was published.
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.

A.A. History in February

February 1
1918 – Original date set for Bill W.’s marriage to Lois Burnham. The date was moved up because of the war.
February 2
1942 – Bill W. 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 A.A. group’s Friday night meeting of a dozen “former hopeless drunks.”
February 8
1940 – Bill W., Dr. Bob, and six other A.A.s asked 60 rich friends of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. for money at the Union Club, N Y. 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 S. (“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 P. (“The Unbeliever” in the 1st edition of the Big Book) in New Jersey.
1940 – With about two years of sobriety, Jim B. (“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
1946 – AA Tribune, Des Moines, IA, reported 36 new members since Marty M. 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.
February19
1967 – Father “John Doe” (Ralph P.), 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 24
2002 — Hal M., “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 G., author of “Stars Don’t Fall,” died. Born Countess Felicia G. in 1905, she was the daughter of Count Josef G. 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 G.
Other February happenings with no specific date:
1908 – Bill W. made boomerang.
1916 – Bill W. & 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.
1940 – First organization meeting of Philadelphia AA is held at McCready H.’s room at 2209 Delaney Street.
1940 – 1st AA clubhouse opened at 334-1/2 West 24th Street, NYC.
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.”

A.A. History in March

March 1
1939 — Readers Digest declined to write article on AA.
1941 – Jack Alexander’s Saturday Evening Post article was published and membership jumped from 2,000 to 8,000 by year’s end.
March 3
1947 — Nell Wing started work at Alcoholic Foundation, 415 Lexington Avenue, NYC.
March 4
1891 — Lois W. was born.
1947 — Nell Wing met Bill W. for the first time.
March 5
1945 — Time Magazine reported first of a series of Detroit radio broadcasts by AA members.
March 7
1940 — Bill and Lois W. visited 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 on an AA member from NY who wanted to form a group in Wichita, KS.
March 10
1944 — New York Intergroup was established.
March 11
1949 — The Calix Society, an association of Roman Catholic alcoholics who are maintaining their sobriety through participation in Alcoholics Anonymous, was formed in Minneapolis by five Catholic AA members.
March14
South Orange, NJ, AA group held an anniversary dinner with Bill W. as guest speaker.
March 15
1941 — First AA group in New Haven, CN, was formed.
March 16
1940 — Alcoholic Foundation and Works Publishing moved from Newark to 30 Vesey St. in lower Manhattan.
March 21
1881 — Dr. Bob’s wife, Anne, was born.
1966 — Ebby T., whom Bill W. called his sponsor, died sober.
March 22
1951 — William Duncan Silkworth, MD, died at Towns Hospital. He helped more than 40,000 alcoholics during his lifetime.
1984 — Clarence S., “Home Brewmeister,” died at 81.
March 23
1936 — Bill & Lois W. visited Fitz M., “Our Southern Friend,” in Maryland.
1940 — Lois W. paid her first visit to the office on Vesey Street in NYC.
March 25
1898 — Jim B. (“The Vicious Cycle”) was born.
March 29
1943 — The Charleston Mail, WV, reported on Bill W.’s talk at St. John’s Parish House.
March 31
1947 — 1st AA group formed in London, England.
Other March happenings with no specific date:
1936 – AA had 10 members staying sober. At end of 1936 AA had 15 members.
1940 – Mort J. arrived in LA from Denver and helped faltering group; started custom of reading Chapter 5 Big Book at Cecil group.
1941 – 1st Prison AA Group was formed at San Quentin.
1941 – Second printing of Big Book appeared.
1946 – The March of Time film on AA was produced.
1949 – Dr. Bob considers idea of AA conference premature.
1951 – American Weekly publishes memorial article for Dr. Bob.

A.A. History in April

April 1
1939 – “Alcoholics Anonymous”, AA’s Big Book was published.
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.
1984 – 12 Coconuts Group, Kapiolani Park, Waikiki, Hawaii, was founded.
April 3
1941 – First Florida AA meeting was held.
April 4
1960 – The Chicago Daily News reported that Fr. Ed D., a Jesuit priest who helped start the first AA group in St. Louis, had died at age 62.
April 7
1941 – Ruth Hock, Bill W.’s secretary, 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 P. in Newark, New Jersey.
April 11
1938 – Alcoholic Foundation held its first meeting.
1939 – Marty M. attended her first meeting at the home of Bill and Lois W. in Brooklyn.
1941 – Bill and Lois W. 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 H. caught the only opening day no-hitter in baseball history since 1909.
1973 – Dr. Jack Norris, non-alcoholic Chairman of the AA General Service Board, presented President Richard Nixon with the one-millionth copy of the Big Book at the White House.
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 W. transferred his Works Publishing Stock to the Alcoholic Foundation. The date on which Hank P. transferred his stock is uncertain.
April 23
1940 – Dr. Bob wrote the Trustees to refuse Big Book royalties, but Bill W. insisted on them for Dr. Bob and Anne.
April 24
1989 – Dr. Leonard Strong died. He was Bill’s brother-in-law and a non-alcoholic AA Trustee.
April 25
1951 – AA’s first General Service Conference was held.
April 26
1939 – Bill & Lois W. moved in with Hank P. 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:
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.”
1958 – The word “honest” was dropped from “an honest desire to top drinking,” in the AA Preamble.
1960 – Bill W. refused to be on the cover of Time Magazine.
1988 – Cybil C., the first woman member in Los Angeles and archivist, died.

A.A. History in May

May 1
1939 – Lois and Bill W. left their home at 182 Clinton St., Brooklyn.
1940 – Rollie H., Cleveland Indians, anonymity break occurred.
1941 – First Wisconsin AA meeting was held in hotel in Milwaukee.
May 2
1941 – Jacksonville, FL newspaper reported the start of an AA group in Jacksonville.
1943 – New Orleans Times reported founding of the first Louisiana AA group with a dozen members.
May 3
1941 – First AA group formed in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1941 – 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.
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.
May 7
1956 – The first English AA Convention was held in Cheltenham, England.
May 8
1943 – Akron AA Group celebrates 8th anniversary with 500 present and sober.
1971 – Bill W. was buried in private ceremony, in East Dorset, Vermont. Dr. Jack Norris gave the eulogy.
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 passed away September 30, 2003 with 57 years continuous sobriety.)
May 11
1935 – Bill W. called Walter Tunks from the Mayflower Hotel, and was referred to Henrietta Seiberling who set up a meeting with Dr. Bob.
1939 – First meeting of the Cleveland Group.
May 12
1935 – Mother’s Day, Bill and Dr. Bob met for the first time, at the home of Henrietta Seiberling.
May 15
1961 – Bill W.’s mother, Dr. Emily Strobell, died.
May 16
1941 – Ruth Hock learned that the man credited with coming up with the name “Alcoholics Anonymous” has a “wet” brain.
May 17
1942 – Dayton Journal Herald published pictures of AA members wearing masks to protect their anonymity.
May 18
1939 – The first group to call itself “Alcoholics Anonymous” meets in Cleveland, OH.
1950 – Dr. Bob told Bill W. “I reckon we ought to be buried like other folks.” He wanted no memorial.
May 19
2000 – Dr. Paul O. died at the age of 83. He was author of “Acceptance Was the Answer” in the 4th edition of the Big Book. This story was titled “Doctor, Alcoholic, Addict” in the 3rd edition.
May 29
1980 – “Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers” was published.
May 31
1938 – Bill W. and other A.A.s began writing the Big Book.
Other significant events in May for which we do not have a specific date:
1938 – Bill W. and other AA’s began writing the Big Book.
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.
1942 – Richmond W., author of “Twenty-Four Hours a Day,” had his last drink.
1946 – Long form of 12 Traditions was published in AA Grapevine for the first time.
1946 – The A.A. Grapevine announced, “A.A. has 6,000 members in 180 groups.”
1948 – The A.A. Grapevine reported $2.00 was sent to the General Service headquarters of A.A. in New York, asking for “a bottle of Alcoholics Anonymous”.
1950 – Nell Wing became Bill W.’s secretary.
1951 – Al-Anon was founded by Lois W. and Anne B.
1962 – The A. A. Grapevine published the first “Victor E.” cartoon.

A.A. History in June

June 1
1949 – Anne S., Dr. Bob’s wife, died.
June 4
2002- Caroline K., author of “Drinking: A Love Story” died sober of lung cancer.
June 5
1940 – Ebby T. 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 W., Bill’s wife, in New York.
June 7
1939 – Bill and Lois W. 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 date that is celebrated as Dr. Bob’s last drink and the official founding date of AA. There is some evidence that the founders, in trying to reconstruct the history, got the date 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 S. and Ernie G. (The Seven Month Slip in the First Edition) killed herself after first killing her six-year-old child.
1971 – Ernie G. 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 B., “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 D. (AA #3) entered Akron’s City Hospital for his last detox and his first day of sobriety.
June 28
1935 – Dr. Bob and Bill W. visited Bill Dotson at Akron’s City Hospital.
June 30
1941 – Ruth Hock showed Bill W. 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 date:
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 W. and Nell Wing in attendance.

A.A. History in July

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
1960 – Father Ed Dowling dies.
965 – Best of Bill and pocket-sized 12 & 12; first sold.
1965 – First La Vigne, the Canadian version of the Grapevine, is published.
1993 – 50 years of AA celebrated in Canada.
July 2-3
1955 – 5000 attend 20th Anniversary at our St Louis Convention; Bill W. turns “the fellowship over to the fellowship” at 4:00 PM
July 2-4
1965 – 10,000 attend 30th Anniversary of AA in Toronto, our Responsibility Declaration is adopted.
July 4
1939 – First AA meeting in Flatbush, NY starts.
July 3-5
1970 – 10,900 attend 35th Anniversary of AA in Miami; Bill W. gives his last talk to AA.
July 3-6
1980 – 22,500 attend 45th Anniversary of AA in New Orleans; first true marathon meeting is held here.
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 flies their flags at half mast for 3 days.
July 7
1940 – Bill attends first 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 are represented as the former Soviet Union’s members attend for the first time.
July 8
1940 – First 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.
1979 – Dr. Ernest Kurtz publishes Not God, a history of AA
July 16
1965 – Frank Amos AA Trustee dies.
July 20
1941 – First AA group forms in Seattle, Washington.
July 22
1877 – Willian Duncan Silkworth born in Brooklyn, NY.
July 22
1980 – Marty M. early AA woman and founder of Nationa Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (NCADD) dies.
July 23
1940 – Philly AA’s send 10% of kitty to Alcoholic Foundation, setting precedent.
July 23
1943 – Esther C.’s sobriety date; she died sober Jan 15, 2005.
July 23
1943 – New Haven Register CT reports arrival of AA’s to study with E.M.Jellinek.
July 24
1943 – L.A. press reports formation of all-Mexican AA Group.
July 28-30
1950 – First AA Convention celebrates 15th anniversary of AA in Cleveland.
July 31
1972 – Rollie H., former baseball player, dies sober in Washington DC.

A.A. History in August

Aug 1
1943 – Washington Times-Herald (DC) reports on AA clubhouse, to protect anonymity withholds address.
Aug 3
1954 – Brinkley S. gets sober at Towns Hospital after 50th detox.
Aug 8
1879 – Dr. Bob born in St. Johnsbury, VT.
Aug 9
1943 – LA groups announce 1000 members in 11 groups.
Aug 11
1938 – Akron & NY members begin writing stories for Big Book.
Aug 15
1890 – E. M. Jellinek is born, author of “The Disease Concept of Alcoholism” and the “Jellinek Curve”.
Aug 16
1939 – Dr Bob and Sister Ignatia admit first alcoholic to St. Thomas Hospital, Akron, Ohio.
Aug 18
1988 – 1st Canadian National AA Convention in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Aug 19
1941 – 1st AA Meeting in Colorado is held in Denver.
Aug 25
1943 – AA group donates Big Book to public library in Quincy, MA.
Aug 26
1941 – Bill writes Dr Bob to tell him Works Publishing has been incorporated.
Aug 28
1954 – 24 Hours a Day is published by Richmond W.
Other significant events in August for which we do not have a specific date:
1934: Rowland Hazard and Cebra Graves 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 million.

A.A. History in September

Sept 1
1939 – First AA group founded in Chicago.
Sept 11
2001 – 30 Vesey St, New York. Location of AA’s first office is destroyed during the World Trade Center attack.
Sept 12
1942 – U.S. Assist. Surgeon General Kolb speaks at dinner for Bill and Dr Bob.
Sept 13
1937 – Florence R, first female in AA in NY.
Sept 13
1941 – WHJP in Jacksonville, FL airs Spotlight on AA.
Sept 17
1954 – Bill D, AA #3 dies.
Sept 18
1947 – Dallas Central Office opens its doors.
Sept 19
1965 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes “Alcoholics Can Be Cured Despite AA”
Sept 19
1975 – Jack Alexander, author of original Saturday Evening Post article, dies.
Sept 21
1938 – Bill W. & Hank P. form Works Publishing Co.
Sept 24
1940 – Bill 12th steps Bobbie V., who later replaced Ruth Hock as his secretary in NY.
Sept 30
1939 – article in Liberty magazine, “Alcoholics and God” by Morris Markey.
Other significant events which occurred in September, but for which we do not have a specific date:
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 – First A.A. group in Mexico.
1948 – Bob writes article for Grapevine on AA, “Fundamentals In Retrospect”.
1949 – First issue of A.A. Grapevine published in “pocketbook” size.

A.A. History in October

Oct 1
1941 – Local news reports 1st AA Group in New Haven, CT.
Oct 1
1957 – Book “A.A. Comes of Age” published.
Oct 2
1944 – Marty M. founded National Committee Education Alcoholism, later became National Council on Alcoholism.
Oct 3
1945 – AA Grapevine adopted as national publication of AA.
Oct 5-7
1972 – 2nd World Service meeting held in New York.
Oct 5
1988 – Lois W. died.
Oct 6
1941 – 900 dine at Cleveland dinner for Bill D., AA #3.
Oct 8
1988 – Memorial Service for Lois W at Stepping Stones, NY.
Oct. 9-11
1969 – 1st World Service meeting held in New York with delegates from 14 countries.
Oct 10
1943 – 6 of 1st 9 AA’s attend clubhouse anniv. in Toledo.
1970 – Lois reads “Bills Last Message” at annual dinner in NY.
1988 – Lois is buried next to Bill in Manchester, Vermont.
Oct 13
1947 – The Melbourne Group held its first meeting in Australia.
Oct 14
1939 – Journal of American Medical Association gives Big Book unfavorable review.
Oct 15
1904 – Marty M., early AA woman, is born in Chicago.
Oct 17
1935 – Ebby T., Bills sponsor, moves in with Bill and Lois.
Oct 20
1928 – Bill wrote promise to Lois in family Bible to quit drinking. By Thanksgiving added second promise.
1939 – Cleveland Plain Dealer begins series of articles on AA by Elrick Davis.
Oct 22
1963 – E. M. Jellinek, alcoholism educator and AA friend dies.
Oct 24
1942 – L.A. Times reports AA groups in 14 California cities.
1943 – Bill & Lois start 1st major A.A. tour, returned Jan 19, 1944.
1973 – Trustee’s Archives Committee of AA has its 1st meeting.
1994 – National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence celebrates 50 years.
Other significant events in October for which we do not have a specific date:
Oct 1939 – First central committee formed in Cleveland; 1st example of A.A. rotation.
Oct 1936 – Bill C. a Canadian alkie staying at Bill’s house, committed suicide using a gas stove.
Oct 1942 – First issue of Cleveland Central Bulletin is published.
Oct 1944 – First non American branch started in Sydney, Australia by Father T. V. Dunlea & Rex.
Oct 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.
Oct 1954 – The “Alcoholic Foundation” renamed the “General Service Board of A.A.”
Oct 1958 – Playhouse 90 TV airs The Days of Wine and Roses.

A.A. History in November

Nov 1
1947 – 1st AA Group in Anchorage, Alaska.
1963 – Reverend Sam Shoemaker dies.
Nov 3
2001 – J. P. Miller who wrote screenplay for “The Days of Wine and Roses” died.
Nov 9
1966 – President Johnson appoints Marty M to the 1st National Advisory Committee on Alcoholism.
Nov 10
1940 – First AA group formed in Minneapolis.
2001 – First of 400,000 4th Edition Big Books arrives in the mail.
Nov 11
1934 – Armistice Day; Bill started drinking after dry spell, beginning of Bill’s last drunk.
Nov 12
1940 – 1st AA meeting is held in Boston.
Nov 13
1939 – Bill wants to go to work at Towns Hsp, NY drunks want him to stay on as head of the movement.
Nov 14
1940 – Alcoholic Foundation publishes first AA Bulletin.
Nov 15
1949 – Bill W suggests that groups devote Thanksgiving week to dicussions of the 12 Traditions.
Nov 16
1950 – Dr. Bob died.
Nov 18
1946 – First Dublin Ireland group met.
Nov 21
1939 – AAs in San Francisco hold first California AA meeting in the Clift Hotel.
1952 – Willard Richardson, past Treasurer/Chairman of Alcoholic Foundation, dies.
Nov 26
1895 – Bill W. born in East Dorsett, VT.
1939 – Dilworth Lupton gave sermon “Mr. X and Alcoholics Anonymous”. Became one of first pamphlets on AA.
Nov 28
1939 – Hank P. writes Bill advocating autonomy for all AA groups.
Nov 28
1943 – Bill guest speaker San Quentin Penitentiary (sometimes dated Dec 2, 1943).
Other significant events in November for which we do not have a specific date:
Nov 1934 – Ebby T. carries message to Bill.
Nov 1936 – Fitz M leaves Towns Hospital to become ‘AA #3 in NY’, with Bill W and Hank P.
Nov 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.
Nov/Dec 1939 – Akron group withdrawals from association with Oxford Group. Meetings moved from T. Henry & Clarence Williams to Dr Bob’s and other members’ homes.
Nov 1941 – “First Mass AA Meeting” in Oklahoma City, 8 present, 1 was drunk.
Nov 1945 – Bill’s article called ‘Those Goof Balls’ published in Grapevine.
Nov 1986 – Big Book published in paperback.

A.A. History in December

Dec 1
1940 – Chicago Daily Tribune begins a series of articles on AA by Nall Hamilton.
Dec 5
1985 – Dave B, founder of Montreal Group, dies weeks before 50th anniversary. His story was added to the 4th Edition Big Book.
Dec 6
1939 – Bert the Tailor lends Works Publishing $1000.
Dec 6
1979 – Akron Beacon reports death of Henrietta Sieberling.
Dec 7
1949 – Sister Ignatia received Poverello Medal on behalf of A.A.
Dec 10
1975 – Birds of a Feather AA group for pilots is formed.
Dec 11
1934 – Bill admitted to Towns Hospital for the fourth and last time (fall ’33, ’34 in summer, midsummer and final admittance).
Dec 11
1941 – Dallas Morning News reports first AA group formed in Dallas.
Dec 12
1934 – Bill has Spiritual Experience at Towns Hospital.
Dec 12
1937 – Bill meets with Rockefeller Foundation and tries to get money.
Dec 13
1937 – Rockland State Mental Hospital takes patients to meeting in New Jersey.
Dec 13 or 14
1934 – Ebby visits Bill at Towns hospital, brings William James’ book, Varieties of Religious Experience.
Dec 19
1939 – Los Angeles hold their first AA meeting there.
Dec 20
1945 – Rowland H. dies (he carried the Oxford Group message to Ebby).
Dec 27
1893 – Rev. Samuel Shoemaker is born.
Other December happenings with no specific date:
Dec 1934 – Bill & Lois start attending Oxford Group meetings.
Dec 1934 to May 1935 – Bill works with alcoholics, but fails to sober any of them. Lois reminds him HE is sober.
Dec 1938 – Twelve Steps written.
Nov/Dec 1939 – Akron group withdraws from association with Oxford Group. Meetings moved from T. Henry & Clarence Williams’

home to Dr Bob and other members’ homes.

Dec 1939 – First AA group in mental institution, Rockland State Hospital, NY.
Dec 1939 – First home meeting in Los Angeles at Kaye M.’s house.
Dec 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 first effort reach alcoholics outside married, middle-class category.
Dec 1940 – First AA group formed in St. Louis, Missouri.
Dec 1940 – Group started Ashtabula, Ohio due to Plain Dealer articles. A.A. Cleveland has about 30 groups.
Dec 1948 – Dr. Bob’s last major talk, in Detroit.
Dec 1950 – Grapevine article signed by both Bill and Dr Bob recommend establishing AA General Service Conference.
Dec 1955 – Man on the Bed painting by Robert M. first appeared in Grapevine. Painting originally called Came to Believe
Dec 1982 – Nell Wing retires from GSO after 35 years of service.

Thanks to Billy C. and Nancy O. of the group “AA History Buffs” for this list, used by permission.