January 7 in A.A. History

1939: After finalizing the details of selling stock in a publishing company to raise funds and retain ownership of what would become the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W. [far left] and Hank P. [near left] “burn up the telephone to [Willard Richardson [near right] in] New York and even to Ohio where Frank Amos [far right]” was presumably enjoying a three-week vacation. They presented an outline of the new company and the stock plan, and posed a straightforward question: “Would you therefore be in favor that [we] make an effort to secure stock subscriptions for a corporation to take over the book on the terms [we] have just described?” Bill, at least, anticipated a negative response, and that is exactly what they got. Neither Richardson nor Amos agreed and both advised caution before taking any further steps [left: stock certificate for Works Publishing, Inc., the company Bill and Hank would form and sell stock in].

1953: Bill W. sent out a manuscript of new essays on the Twelve Steps for “criticisms and suggestions.” In his letter [right] he reminded recipients that “last spring…” he had “circulated… a similar piece of writing on A.A.’s Twelve Traditions.” He mentioned that “since then, following considerable discussion, a plan had evolved to perhaps combine the two manuscripts into a single book, [the future Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions] …” He noted that Harper & Bros. had made “a very favorable offer” to distribute the book to “the outside public” and expressed his desire to have the book approved by the General Service Conference in April.

1984: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS) published Pass It On: The Story of Bill W—and how the A.A. message reached the world [left, 1st edition]. Mel B. [right] was the primary author, with assistance from several others.

January 6 in A.A. History

In 1941, Bill W. [near right, 1942] responded to a letter from Jack Alexander [far right], who had enclosed a manuscript of his article on Alcoholics Anonymous for The Saturday Evening Post. Bill’s eagerness was evident:

    I wish I could adequately convey to you the sense of gratitude that every one of us feels towards you and the Saturday Post for what is about to take place. You can not possibly conceive the direct alleviation of so much misery as will be brought to an end through your pen and your good publishers. For many a day you will be the toast of A.A.—in Coca-Cola, of course!

In 1955, Bill W.’s stepmother, Christine Bock W., 77, died in Los Angeles, California. She would be buried alongside Bill’s father in the East Dorset Cemetery in Vermont [left: their headstone].

In 2000, Stephen P. [right], 63, died at Washoe Medical Center in Reno, Nevada, after a 6½-year battle with chronic myelogenous leukemia. Together with his wife Frances, he had compiled A Concordance to Alcoholics Anonymous [left], first published in August 1990.
    Under the pseudonym Stephen E. Whitfield, and with minimal contributions from Gene Roddenberry, he wrote the classic book The Making of Star Trek [right], the first—and for many years the only—specialized reference book on the behind-the-scenes aspects of Star Trek production, published in 1968.

January 5 in A.A. History

In 1939, Hank P. [near right] wrote to Bill W. [center right] after receiving a letter from Tom Uzzell [far right], editor of the book manuscript, which stated:

    I spent last evening with the manuscript... on reading additional chapters... I found myself deeply moved, at times full of amazement, almost incredulity, and during most of the reading I was extremely sympathetic. My feeling at the moment is that you should certainly hold on to the production and distribution of this volume... I don't know what else you could want for a good book. I believe in it most em­phatically... The whole book needs the final shaping of a professional hand... I understand better now the enthusiasm your with me about this work. I thought you were exaggerating somewhat but now I have joined the choir invisible.

    Shortly thereafter, Uzzell began editing the material that Hank and Bill had sent him, resulting in a pre-publication manuscript [left: page 1] that in a few months would become the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 1940, Clarence S. [right] wrote to Bill W.,

    Have attended two of Doc S――’s meetings since he has been holding them in his home, and they have been very well attended and very inspirational.
    Doc led our meeting, and never have I heard him in such fine fettle. Noticed a vast improvement since he pulled his gang out of the Williamses’. Now speaks with authority and no pussyfooting, and I believe he looks ten years younger.

     In 1977, John R. recalled,

    I’m not sure, but I think we had two meetings there. You should have seen Doc’s house! His little living room [left] wasn’t much bigger that this little house we live in. We were crowded up pretty good there.

In 1941 [Lois Remembers says early March], Bill and Lois W. were spending the weekend at the home of A.A. members Ruth and Wilbur S. in Chautauqua, New York. The day before, the S――s had shown the Wilsons an unoccupied house in Bedford Hills owned by the widow, Mrs. Helen Griffith—who was not related to Bill. She wanted to meet the W――s, so they returned to the house to see her. Helen made them an offer: to sell the house for $6,500 [~$148,000 in 2026], significantly less than her original asking price, with no down payment and a monthly mortgage payment of $40 [~$911 in 2026], with no interest for at least the first year. After Bill made some quick mental calculations, he and Lois accepted Helen’s offer.

January 4 in A.A. History

In 1939, Bill W. [far left, late 1930s] wrote to Frank Amos [near left] that the One Hundred Men book was nearly finished, but that more editing might be needed. He mentioned that a copy had been given to Tom Uzzell [right] for this work and that “one more consultation with the boys in Akron will be necessary.”

In 1939 [5th? 10th?], Dr. Bob S. [left] wrote to Ruth Hock [right] that the Akron alcoholics needed “to get away from the Oxford Group atmosphere.” However, it wouldn’t be until December that “alcoholic squad” left the Oxford Group and began holding their own A.A. meetings.

In 1940, Sarah Klein [right], 53, daughter of a proud, privileged New York family and the non-alcoholic wife of an alcoholic, met alcoholic Archie Trowbridge  [left] in his dingy third-floor walk-up on Kirby St. between Cass Ave. and 2nd St. in Detroit, Michigan. They would form the first Alcoholic Anonymous. group there, meeting weekly and seeking prospects.
    In April the year before, Sarah had received and read an early copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Impressed, she wrote to the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City, inquiring how they intended to implement the ideas in the book. The Foundation responded that an unnamed member (Archie), who was sobering up in Akron, would be returning home to Detroit in mid-summer. They also sent a letter to Archie, who was recovering at Clarence S.’s home in Cleveland, Ohio, informing him of the request from Detroit. He assumed that “S. Klein” was not only an alcoholic but also a man.

In 1941, Bill and Lois W. had been invited to spend the weekend with their Alcoholics Anonymous friends, Ruth and Wilbur S., in Chappaqua, New York. Their hosts picked them up at the local train station, but Bill noticed they had passed through Chappaqua and were approaching Bedford Hills. Ruth mentioned she had a surprise for them: she and Wilbur wanted to show them a house they believed would be perfect for the still-homeless couple. The house belonged to a widow friend of Ruth’s, who admired A.A. greatly after seeing it help one of her friends.
    They discovered a charming, unoccupied country house on two acres atop a hill. Bill found an unlocked window, climbed in, and pulled Lois in behind him. They stood in front of a fieldstone fireplace in a large wood-paneled living room. The house had six more rooms: three bedrooms and a kitchen downstairs, as well as a long library with bookshelves and another bedroom upstairs. Despite their initial misgivings, they fell in love with the place and would buy it that spring [right: Bill and Lois in front of Stepping Stones, earliest known image, c. 1941].

In 1941, Jack Alexander wrote to Bill W., enclosing a manuscript of his article, “Alcoholics Anonymous: Freed Slaves of Drink, Now They Free Others,” which was to be published in the 1 March 1941 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.

In 1946, the first Alcoholics Anonymous group in Suffolk County, New York, held its initial meeting in Huntington.

In 1950, the Johnson City (Tennessee) Press briefly reported [left] on a recently aired documentary “presented by” Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 2023, the newly translated Mongolian service manual was approved by the General Service Office of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

January 3 in A.A. History

In 1919, Bill W. [right: in France, 1919] wrote to Lois that the men in his artillery battery had “paid him special honor,” saying,

    Quite a touching thing happened just before we came here. The men presented Captain S. [Sackville] & I [sic] each with a watch chain and a ring. They lined up the whole battery and I tell you it was equal to promotion and decoration by [General] J. J. Pershing himself! Coming as it did from a clear ploy it was quite overwhelming. Wouldn’t have changed insignia with a Brig.[Brigadier] Gen. [General] It means so much more than promotion. In so far as I know we are the only people in the reg. [regiment] who have been so honored. I know you’ll be as happy and proud as I am. The watch is an elaborate gold and silver affair, the chain a very light gold one which several of the boys ^rather_^^shyly “opined” would look well against a “[illegible]” vest. The ring is a plain & gold one with a facet for a monogram [sic] Am terribly inflated & stuck up.

    The Tiffany signet ring [left] featured Bill’s initials, “WGW,” and was inscribed with the words, “From Men of Bat. C 66th C.A.C., Chalus, France Nov. 1918” (Bat. = Battery, C.A.C. = Coastal Artillery Corps). The watch [right: a 1918 model, not Bill’s] was a pocket watch, which explains the watch chain that Bill mentioned in his letter.

In 1946, Ian MacE. wrote to the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City asking for help and became the first A.A. member in New Zealand.
    Previously, he had tried every known treatment for his drinking problem without success. In late 1945, Ian had checked himself into the Nelson Psychiatric Hospital. While in the reading room, he picked up a copy of the No­vem­ber 1944 issue of Reader’s Digest [left: cover] and read an article condensed from Argosy, which had published the full article in October 1944 [right: cover]. Titled “‘Maybe I Can Do It Too!’” [left: 1st page] by Edward McG., the piece detailed the recovery of an alcoholic who had found help through a fellowship called Alcoholics Anonymous. Ian had never heard of A.A., but he identified with the article in a way he had never identified with anyone before. A note at the end of the article stated, “A postcard sent to P.O. Box 459, Grand Central Annex, New York 17, N.Y., will bring further information about this organization.” Ian wrote to that address, taking the first step in his own recovery, and thus A.A. in New Zealand was born.

January 2 in A.A. History

In 1889, Bridget Della Mary Gavin was born in Shanvilly, County Mayo, Ireland. After immigrating to the United States, she joined the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine in Cleveland, Ohio, where she received the religious name Sister Mary Ignatia [right: Sr. Ignatia interviewing an alcoholic for possible admission]. An accomplished musician, she was assigned to teach music for about ten years but found the pace “too hectic” and eventually suffered a nervous breakdown.
    After her recovery, her superior appointed her to work in the admissions office at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio. Despite the hospital’s policy against treating drunks, she began secretly doing so in 1934. She would go on to assist Dr. Bob S. [left] and thousands of alcoholics, earning the nickname “The Drunks’ Little Angel of Hope.”

In 1896, Harry Tiebout [right] was born in Brooklyn, New York. According to the unsigned introduction to the book Harry Tiebout: The Collected Writings (1999), “He would become the first psychiatrist to publicly recognize and uphold the work of Alcoholics Anonymous,” and would be “uniquely distinguished for having facilitated communication between the worlds of alcoholism and psychiatry.”

In 1931, in its “Scientific Notes and News” [left], Science magazine noted that Dr. Frederick B., as president of the American Institute of Chemists had been elected ex officio as an honorary member of the Chemical, Metallurgical and Mining Societies of South Africa. This announcement appeared three below that of Albert Einstein accepting an invitation to become the Cecil Rhodes Memorial Lecturer at Oxford.
    Dr. B. was Bill W.'s first real A.A. prospect in December 1934. 

	In 1940, Dr. Bob S. wrote to Bill W. [right: both men, respectively],     Have definitely shaken off the shackles of the Oxford Group and are meeting at my house for the time being. Had 74 Wednesday in my little house, but shall get a hall soon [left: Dr. Bob and Anne's residence, 855 Ardmore Ave., Akron, Ohio; above—living room; below—aerial view].

In 2003, the Mid-Southern California (Area 09) Archives relocated to its second location at 6922 Brockton Ave. in Riverside [left, August 2008].

January 1 in A.A. History

In 1773, the song known today as “Amazing Grace” was first performed at a public prayer meeting in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England.
    Written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton [left] to illustrate that day’s sermon, it was originally titled “1 Chronicles 17:16-17” [right: Olney Hymns (1779), p. 53]. It is unclear whether there was any musical accompaniment; it may have been chanted.
    Newton had grown up without any religious beliefs and had been pressed into service in the Royal Navy. After leaving the Navy, he became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland, a violent storm had battered his ship so severely that he cried out to God for mercy. He claimed that this moment had marked his spiritual conversion, but he continued to trade slaves until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring career. Newton then began to study Christian theology, was ordained in the Church of England in 1764, and later became an abolitionist.

In 1946, the A.A. Grapevine raised the cost of an annual subscription from $1.50 to $2.50 [~$26 to $43 in 2026] and of each issue from 15¢ to 25¢ [~$2.60 to $4.30 in 2026].

In 1948, in Tokyo, Japan, Harry G. started the country’s first Alcoholics Anonymous group, an English-speaking one. An Indiana A.A. member, he was writing a book about the war crimes trials of 1945–48.
    After an article about A.A. had appeared in Pacific Stars and Stripes [right: 15 Dec 1946 issue], the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City had been inundated with letters from U.S. Armed Forces members in Japan. The Foundation had forwarded these names to Harry, who had written to the Foundation in December 1947, suggesting that Japan presented fertile ground for A.A. The establishment of this English-speaking group would eventually lead to the formation of Japanese-language groups throughout the country.

In 1975, Bill W.: My First 40 Years [left: cover], Bill’s autobiography as told to Robert Thomsen, was published. The following is an excerpt from the 2006 edition published by Hazelden:

    “I was born, to be exact, in a hotel then known as Wilson House… I was born, perhaps rightly, in a room just back of the old bar.” It was the beginning of a life that would change the lives of millions. Told here for the first time in his own words is the story of the man who would come to be known as Bill W.—a man who, for his part in founding the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, would be celebrated as one of the important figures of the twentieth century. “The terrifying darkness had become complete. In agony of spirit, I again thought of the cancer of alcoholism which had now consumed me in mind and spirit, and soon the body. But what of the Great Physician? For a brief moment, I suppose, the last trace of my obstinacy was crushed out as the abyss yawned. I remember saying to myself, ‘I'll do anything, anything at all. If there be a Great Physician, I'll call on him.’ Then, with neither faith nor hope I cried out, ‘If there be a God, let him show himself.’”

In 1979, the clinical modification version of the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9), commonly known as ICD-9-CM, was mandated in the United States for billing and clinical coding in reportings, such as Medicare and Medicaid claims, starting on this date.
    The IDC-9 had been designed and finalized in the late 1970s (approximately 1977–1978) and was the first version to classify alcoholism in both its medical and psychiatric sections.

In 2002, the second meeting of the month-long Online Service Conference (OSC) commenced with 59 participants, including 33 group representatives, alternates, and the Steering Committee. This meeting continued the discussion of several issues addressed at the first conference. The agenda included:

1. definition of an “online A.A. group,”
2. online literature publication and AAWS copyrights,
3. using online A.A. to reach those who cannot be served by “face to face” A.A.,
4. anonymity guidelines for the Internet,
5. issues affecting world unity of the A.A. Fellowship, and
6. future OSC participation with other A.A. organizations.

In 2004, the fourth meeting of the month-long Online Service Conference (OSC) commenced, with 48 groups represented. Including alternates and steering committee members, total attendance reached 73.

In 2008, Robert “Bob” P. [right], 90, died peacefully of “old age” at his home in Bellevue, Idaho, surrounded by his wife, children, and grandchildren. He was a writer, publicist, WWII veteran, and community leader.
    Bob is perhaps best remembered in Alcoholics Anonymous for his powerful and inspiring closing talk at the 1986 General Service Conference, where he addressed what he considered to be A.A.’s greatest danger.

    If you were to ask me what is the greatest danger facing A.A. today, I would have to answer: the growing rigidity—the increasing demand for absolute answers to nit-picking questions; pressure for GSO to “enforce” our Traditions; screening alcoholics at closed meetings; prohibiting non-Conference-approved literature, i.e., “banning books;” laying more and more rules on groups and members. And in this trend toward rigidity, we are drifting farther and farther away from our co-founders. Bill [W.], in particular, must be spinning in his grave, for he was perhaps the most permissive person I ever met.

    One of his favorite sayings was, “Every group has the right to be wrong.” He was maddeningly tolerant of his critics, and he had absolute faith that faults in A.A. were self-correcting.
    After getting sober in 1961, Bob dedicated himself to A.A., occasionally working alongside its co-founder, Bill W. He served on local and national boards of A.A. and was eventually appointed General Manager of A.A.’s General Service Organization, overseeing significant international growth and expansion from 1974 to 1984. Under his leadership, the organization played a vital role in establishing hundreds of unrelated 12-step programs, helping millions conquer various addictions. Additionally, he authored a well-known unpublished manuscript on A.A. history in 1985, which was unsuccessfully offered to the General Service Conference for its approval.
    Through his service to A.A., Bob, along with his wife Betsy (a longtime member of Al-Anon), traveled the world, speaking to both small A.A. groups and at International Conventions with over 50,000 attendees. His A.A. story, “A.A. Taught Him to Handle Sobriety,” was first published as the closing story in the third edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

December 31 in A.A. History

In 1937, Bill and Lois W. hosted a gala New Year’s Eve party at 182 Clinton St. [right: living room]. They invited nearly 30 people, including most, if not all, of the members of the New York City as-yet-unnamed Alcoholics Anonymous fellowship, as well as a number of other friends and relatives.

In 1940, the first major Alcoholics Anonymous event in Detroit, Michigan, was a New Year’s Eve celebration at Mike E.’s house. About 20 A.A. members attended, along with their spouses or guests, bringing the total to around 40 people [left: photo taken at the celebration].

In 2006, the Delegate Area (DelArea) system for tracking groups and contributions was shut down at the General Service Office in New York City.