January 24 in A.A. History

In 1918, Bill W. and Lois Burnham [right, in wedding attire] were married.
    Bill was stationed at Ft. Adams near Newport, Rhode Island. Spurred by rumors that Bill’s unit might soon be going overseas, they moved the date up from the scheduled February 1, and were married at the Swedenborgian Church of the New Jerusalem in Brooklyn, New York. Rev. Julian Smyth officiated.
    Rogers Burnham, Lois’ brother and Bill's childhood friend, was best man; Lois's sister Katherine “Kitty” and four friends from Packer Institute were bridesmaids; her childhood friend Elise Valentine Shaw was matron of honor; and her sister Barbara was maid of honor. Bill’s mother, Emily Griffith W. was unable to come from Boston because she had the flu, and Bill’s sister Dorothy stayed behind to care for their mother. Also absent, perhaps because of the sudden change in date, were Fayette and Ella Griffith, Emily’s parents, who had raised Bill and Dorothy from the time he was about 10 years old.
    Said one of Bill’s biographers,

    But nothing, not even a lack of family on the groom’s side, could dim the quiet glow of the occasion, a young lanky soldier beside his bride—and no one who was at the church or at the reception on Clinton Street was apt to forget them.

 In 1945, the first black A.A. group in the United States was formed in St. Louis, Missouri. The group met with 5 members present, and elected Torrence S. as secretary. Proud of their accomplishment, they called themselves the “AA-1 Group.” Father Ed Dowling, Bill’s spiritual advisor and an important figure in St. Louis A.A. who had long been a friend to the black community, may have played a role in gaining this group's acceptance into the larger community.

In 1954, On Bill and Lois W.’s 38th wedding anniversary, she suffered a heart attack that severely limited her activities for a year.

In 1968, Bill and Lois W. celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary [left: Bill & Lois, 1960s].

In 1971, Bill W., 75, co-founder of A.A. and 36 years sober, died at the Miami Heart Institute in Miami Beach, Florida on his and Lois’ 53rd wedding anniversary. Bill was the architect and author of the Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous: Recovery, Unity and Service. He also wrote the documents that explained them. It was an amazing accomplishment, especially since he had no training as a writer, organizer, or administrator.