June 17 in A.A. History

In 1926, Lois W.’s sister, Katharine “Kitty” Burnham [near right, 1924], married Gardner Swentzel [far right, 1916] at the Church of the New Jerusalem, near the Burnham home in Brooklyn. 
    Bill and Lois had interrupted their motorcycle tour in Alabama to attend the wedding. On their way, they had an accident outside Dayton, Tennessee, where Bill broke his collarbone and Lois twisted her leg, resulting in “water on the knee.” They spent a week recovering and then, after a few more days, shipped their motorcycle and belongings home while they took the train. As Lois described it:

Although we were in plenty of time for the wedding, I made a sorry looking matron of honor, when, with red gashes on my face, I limped up the aisle.

In 1935, Dr. Bob S. [left] had his last drink, according to recent historical research. The best known but incorrect date is June 10, the official founding date of Alcoholics Anonymous.
    Dr. Bob had decided to attend the annual American Medical Association convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from June 10 to 14. During the trip, he engaged in several days of binge drinking: on the way to the convention, during the convention, and while returning home. 

    Ul­ti­mate­ly, a drunken Dr. Bob ended up at the home of his office nurse in Cuy­a­hoga Falls, Ohio. His wife, Anne [near right], and Bill W. [far right] came to pick him up. With Bill’s help, Bob spent three days sobering up. Facing surgery at Akron City Hospital, he made a pivotal decision:

I am going through with this—I have placed both the operation and myself in God’s hands. I’m going to do what it takes to get sober and stay that way.

    Before the surgery, Bill gave Bob his last drink, a beer, along with a “goofball” (a barbiturate) to help steady him.

In 1942 , local A.A. groups hosted the inaugural New York City area meeting, which attracted 424 attendees. The event featured speakers Rev. Vincent Donovan [near right], Dr. William D. Silkworth [middle right], and Williard S. Richardson [far right], Treasurer of the Alcoholic Foundation and associate of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

In 1967, T. Henry Williams [left] died and was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery and Mausoleum in Twinsburg, Ohio.

    From the early 1930s until 1939, he and his wife, Clarace, had hosted weekly Oxford Group meetings at their home [above right], welcoming early members like Henrietta Seiberling, Dr. Bob, Anne S., and others. Following Bill W.’s arrival in 1935, new members of the emerging Alcoholics Anonymous group in Akron, Ohio, were included as part of the “alcoholic squadron” of the Oxford Group.