May 6 in A.A. History

In 1896, Gilbert “Gib” K. was born in Germania, Wisconsin. He would found the first A.A. group in Milwaukee.

In 1939, Clarence S. [left], concerned about the challenges faced by Catholic alcoholics with the Oxford Group, approached Dr. Bob S. [right], his sponsor, regarding this issue (not for the first time).

Dr. Bob:	“What do you have in mind?”
Clarence:	“To start a group without all this rigmarole that’s offensive to other people. We have a book now, the Steps, the absolutes. Anyone can live by that program. We can start our own meetings.”
Dr. Bob:	(referring to OG members, especially to Henrietta Seiberling, and to T. Henry and Clarace Williams) “We can’t abandon these people. We owe our lives to them.”
Clarence:	“So what? I owe my life to them, too. But what about all these others?”, referring to Catholic A.A. members.
Dr. Bob:	“We can’t do anything about them.”
Clarence:	“Oh yes, we can.”
Dr. Bob:	“Like what?”
Clarence:	“You’ll see.”

Less than a week later, Clarence started the first group in Cleveland, Ohio, which is usually considered the third A.A. group anywhere. It was also the first group to adopt the name “Alcoholics Anonymous,” after the book published the previous month.

In 1941, in the Twin City of St. Paul, Minnesota, the first A.A. meeting was held in the home of Dr. Glenn Clark [left], a non-alcoholic professor at Macalester College. After reading Jack Alexander’s article in The Saturday Evening Post, Dr. Clark wanted to help a friend struggling with alcoholism. A local story in the St. Paul Pioneer Press published a few weeks later further boosted membership to 15, including the first woman.