June 6 in A.A. History

In 1940, the first Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) group in Richmond [right: downtown, c. 1940s], Virginia, began meeting.
    In the spring of 1940. Ted C., who had been treated at Rockland State Hospital in Orangeburg, New York, was returning to Richmond when the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City asked him to serve as their local contact. One of his initial referrals was McGhee B., whom Ted successfully helped to get sober. Together, they established the group, holding their first meeting in McGhee’s apartment with ten attendees. However, as Bill W. later recalled, they “believed in getting away from their wives and drinking only beer.” This approach did not work, and the group fell apart almost immediately.

In 1961, Dr. Carl Gustav Jung [far left] died from circulatory problems at his home in Küsnacht, located in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland [near right: Jung family gravestone]. He became a full professor of medical psychology at the University of Basel in 1943 but resigned the following year after suffering a heart attack, choosing to lead a more private life. He experienced another illness in 1952. 
    Despite these health challenges, Jung continued to publish books until his death, with his last work being, “Approaching the Unconscious,” a contribution to Man and His Symbols, written in early 1961 and published posthumously in 1964.

In 1979, in New York City, Lois W., the widow of Bill W., presented the 2,000,000th copy of Alcoholics Anonymous to Joseph Califano, who was then the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare [right: Dr. Norris presides over presentation by Lois to Califano].