July in A.A. History (day unknown)

In 1939 [Early], Marty M. [right, at Blythewood with her sisters Chris (L) and Betty (R), 4 Jul 1938] had been a charity patient at the upscale Bythewood Sanitarium [left] under Dr. Harry Tiebout [below left] for over a year, but she showed no signs of progress.

    Dr. Tiebout decided to give her his manuscript copy of Alcoholics Anonymous to see if the book had any value. Eagerly, she read it and was “thrilled” to discover a name for her affliction: alcoholism, a disease. “I love the word alcoholic!” she exclaimed.  

    However, she soon encountered a significant obstacle. “On every page, there were four or five capital Gs [‘God’]!” The following day, she confronted Tiebout, declaring, “God is nothing but self-hypnosis. I’m not about to accept this! I can’t buy it.”
    Tiebout responded calmly but firmly, “Oh, never mind about that. Go back and read some more, and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.” Marty resisted. Each day, she read just enough to arm herself for their next session. Tiebout would always say, “All right. Now go read some more.” This routine continued for six weeks, and she was only halfway through the manuscript.
    Then a crisis erupted, sending Marty into a rage that involved her sister Chris and her friend Grennie. Feeling responsible, she stormed up to her third-floor attic room. “I was angry with a kind of anger I had never felt before, and thank God, never have since,” she later recounted. “I was raging. I wanted to kill!” She literally saw red as the blood vessels in her eyes began to break.
    As she was contemplating a thought to “get two big bottles of whiskey and get good and drunk” to drown her anger, out of the corner of her eye she noticed “that damn book,” Alcoholics Anonymous, lying open on her bed.

    In the middle of the page was a line that stood out as if carved in raised block letters, black, high, sharp—“We cannot live with anger.” That did it. Somehow those words were the battering ram that knocked down my resistance.

In 1939 [Fall?], Kaye M., a non-alcoholic, divorced her alcoholic husband Ty while he was trying to get sober in Akron, Ohio, and traveled to New York City to meet Bill W.
    Previously, after Ty had managed to stay sober for two years, he and Kaye had moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Los Angeles, California. However, in Los Angeles, he relapsed and drank himself into one jam after another. His attorney in Cleveland, Ohio, sent Ty a copy of the multilith final draft of Alcoholics Anonymous, which Bill Wilson had provided him. Though Ty was deeply impressed with the manuscript, he did not stop drinking. Kaye, who did not read the manuscript herself, was moved by her husband’s reaction and wired the Alcoholic Foundation for help.
    When they told her that the nearest A.A. meeting to Los Angeles was in Akron, Ohio, Kaye took Ty there and asked Dr. Bob S. and Wally G. to help him.
    On meeting Bill in New York City, Kaye was surprised when he spoke not about Ty’s issues, but about her’s, saying that she was spiritually bankrupt. She later recalled:

    Bill told me that I had been an extremely bad wife because I had broken all his falls for him and never let him hit bottom.

    Bill also gave her a newly published copy of Alcoholics Anonymous. While in New York, Kaye attended her first A.A. meeting, which made a significant impression on her. Saying goodbye to Bill, she told him:

    I’m going home to Los Angeles, and if Ty can stay sober on these twelve steps of yours for six months, I’m going to beat the drum for Alcoholics Anonymous up and down the state of California, I swear to God.

Kaye returned home—without Ty—by freighter via the Panama Canal, a journey that likely took 2 to 3 weeks. She used this time to read the Big Book.

July in A.A. History (day unknown)

In 1908, exhausted and depressed after a budget dispute that led to his resignation, Rev. Frank Buchman [upper right], the future founder of the Oxford Group, arrived in England to attend the Keswick Convention of Evangelicals. He hoped to meet the renowned Quaker-influenced Baptist evangelist F. B. Meyer [center right] (1847–1929), whom he believed could offer him guidance. Although Meyer was not there, Buchman experienced a profound spiritual surrender after hearing a sermon titled “The Cross of Christ” delivered by evangelist Jessie Penn-Lewis [lower right, a descendant of William Penn’s]. As he later recalled:

    She pictured the dying Christ as I had never seen him pictured before. I saw the nails in the palms of His hands, I saw the bigger nail which held His feet. I saw the spear thrust in His side, and I saw the look of sorrow and infinite suffering in His face. I knew that I had wounded Him, that there was a great distance between myself and Him, and I knew that it was my sin of nursing ill-will.…
    I thought of those six men back in Philadelphia who I felt had wronged me. They probably had, but I'd got so mixed up in the wrong that I was the seventh wrong man. Right in my conviction, I was wrong in harbouring ill-will. I wanted my own way and my feelings were hurt.
    I began to see myself as God saw me, which was a very different picture than the one I had of myself. I don't know how you explain it, I can only tell you I sat there and realised how my sin, my pride, my selfishness and my ill-will, had eclipsed me from God in Christ.

    He later helped another participant in undergoing the same experience. These experiences became pivotal to the rest of his life’s work. Upon returning to the U.S., he entered his “laboratory years,” where he developed the principles he would later implement on a global scale.

In 1918, Bill W. [left, in uniform (1918)] sailed from Boston to New York Harbor aboard the H.M.T.^* Lancashire [below right].
    During the subsequent voyage to England, an officer shared brandy with him, which he immediately took to, of course.

    On the eve of their arrival, while Bill was on watch, a sudden crashing thud sent the soldiers into a panic. With his pistol drawn, Bill took control of the situation by barking orders, thus proving to himself, at least, that he was the coward he feared.
    After reaching shore, his unit was delayed by a minor epidemic near Winchester. During this time, Bill visited Winchester Cathedral, where he felt a “tremendous sense of presence,” partly inspired by an epitaph on the headstone of a Hampshire Grenadier, Thomas Thetcher. He later quoted this epitaph from memory in “Bill’s Story” in the book Alcoholics Anonymous.

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^*Hired Military Transport, i.e., non-commissioned

In 1921, without a job and no idea what he wanted to do, Bill W was “restless and his drinking increased,” according to his wife, Lois. She worked as an occupational therapy aide for the Red Cross at Brooklyn Naval Hospital [upper left: exterior, 1940s; lower left: a group of nurses at the hospital, 1920]. Using her vacation time, she and Bill embarked on a camping trip along the 300-mile Long Trail* [below right: map], along the peaks of Vermont’s Green Mountains—a trail that her father and brother had helped to clear. For Lois, these camping trips served as an opportunity to “think things over” and to encourage Bill to curb his drinking.

During this trip, Bill resolved to attend law school. His grandfather, who had raised him from the age of 11, had always wanted him to be a lawyer. Although bill was “not sure he wanted to be an attorney,” he believed that “knowledge of the law would always be useful.” Upon their return, Bill enrolled in night classes at Brooklyn Law School [left: Brooklyn Eagle Building, home of Brooklyn Law School, 1923], a division of St. Lawrence University, and kept at his studies for four years. Lois later wrote, “After paying the fifteen-dollar fee [~$270 in 2025] for his diploma, he was too drunk to leave the apartment the next day to pick it up. He never bothered to get it. It could still be there.”

    Lois was not quite correct. David G. Trager, who served as Dean of Brooklyn Law School from 1983 to 1993 and reviewed Bill’s records from the early 1920s, noted that Bill failed a course on Executors and Administrators (pertaining to wills, estates, and trusts) in his final term in 1924. He returned in the fall to retake the course but ultimately left the law school without completing the required examination, and so was ineligible for a diploma (although New York state allows anyone with at least one year law school to take the bar exam, after completing three years of law office study under the supervision of a practicing attorney or judge).

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[All quotes are from Lois Remembers.]
^*The Long Trail, constructed from 1910 to 1930, follows the main ridge of the Green Mountains from Massachusetts to Canada. It is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States, and later inspired the creation of the Appalachian Trail.

In 1922, Lois W. experienced her second ectopic pregnancy, where a fertilized egg develops outside the uterus—in her case, in a fallopian tube. The first had occurred just a month before in her other fallopian tube, and her father, Dr. Clark Burnham [left], had treated her at home.

    This time, he promptly sent her to the Skene Sanitarium [right], where he was on staff. A colleague performed the surgery, and Lois then went to her family's camp on Emerald Lake in Vermont to recover under her father's care. 

    Unfortunately, her condition worsened instead of improving. Despite feeling increasingly unwell, she missed home and pretended to be getting better until Dr. Burnham “let” her go home. Once home, her husband Bill kept her in bed for several weeks. Concerned about her deteriorating health, he consulted Dr. Leonard Strong [left], his brother-in-law, who realized that a cyst had formed on what remained of her ovary. Lois returned to the surgeon who had operated on her, but he only conducted a “cursory examination” and prescribed a laxative for what he assumed was constipation. Knowing better, Bill contacted Dr. Burnham, who quickly took a train back from Vermont and readmitted Lois to the Skene Sanitarium. There, the cyst was removed, and she began to recover rapidly.
    Lois would suffer a third and final ectopic pregnancy the following May.

July 8 in A.A. History

In 1980 [Some sources cite July 10] Helen Evans [right: at age 16, in 1931], Bill W.’s half-sister and the first paid employee of the A.A. Grapevine, died of cancer at the age of 64 in Tucson, Arizona.

July 7 in A.A. History

In 2023, Mongolian A.A. celebrated their 25th anniversary in a hybrid [in-person and online] meeting at Steppe Arena [right] in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia [left: inside the arena during the celebration]. During the event, one speaker highlighted their achievements:

    Today, Mongolian AA is a non-governmental organization registered in Mongolia that serves its members and has about 3,000 members and 172 registered groups. We are a society registered with the World AA General Service Office, and we have a General Service Board consisting of two Class A or Non-Alcoholic Trustees and seven Class B or A.A. Trustees as outlined in the New Service Manual, Annual Service Conferences, 2-yearly National Conferences, and 5-yearly International Conferences.

July 6 in A.A. History

In 1985, during A.A.’s 8h International Convention and 50th anniversary celebration in Montreal, Quebec, Ruth Crecelius (née Hock), the non-alcoholic typist of the first edition of the Big Book and A.A.’s first national secretary, was presented with the 5,000,000th copy that book, Alcoholics Anonymous [right: Ruth holding that copy of the Big Book].

July 5 in A.A. History

In 1946, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, an unusually large crowd of 50 to 60 people attended the weekly 7 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, which was exclusively for alcoholics and which was ironically held in a pub that had lost its license. Among the attendees, six or seven were visibly drunk, but they went largely unnoticed. Recently, a group of men had been regularly attending the meetings—sometimes sober, sometimes intoxicated—moving from person to person in search of cigarettes and spare change. They made no effort to follow the 12 Steps and often disrupted the gathering. For the first time, those genuinely seeking sobriety followed the advice of the non-alcoholic founders of A.A. in Australia, opting not to give these men money or help them in any way. Consequently, none of the moochers returned for the following two weeks.

In 1970, at the 5th International Convention [right] in Miami, Florida, Bill W., despite struggling with soon-to-be fatal emphysema, wanted desperately to deliver two major talks and participate in several other meetings throughout the four-day event. However, he fell ill on the first night and was unable to attend until a surprise appearance at the closing session on Sunday morning, July 5, where he gave his very brief “Last Talk.”

In 1990, at A.A.’s 9th International Convention and 55th anniversary celebration in Seattle, Washington, the 10,000,000th copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was presented to Nellie “Nell” Wing [left, later in life], who was Bill W.’s longtime non-alcoholic secretary and A.A.’s first archivist. 

    Nell [right, c. 1945] later described the event as a sort of homecoming for herself, stating,

I had spent 1944-46 in Seattle (the 13th Naval District) as a member of SPARS, the Women’s Coast Guard Reserve, in the basement of the Olympic Hotel. There was a large bar and dining room which we called the “snake pit” and where many of us, along with the Coast Guard and Navy guys, did a bit of off-duty drinking. One night I got involved in an all-night drinking spree and next morning, up before my Executive Officer, was “awarded” a captain’s mast^* and sentenced to a brief confinement in my quarters (the “brig” was full). I was allowed out once a day, accompanied by a shore patrol Now, 44 years later, here I was in Seattle again and the recipient of the 10 millionth copy of the Big Book. No words can adequately express my deep gratitude to this beloved Fellowship and my cherished friends therein.

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^*A captain's mast is a form of nonjudicial punishment used in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard to address minor offenses committed by service members. It is conducted by the commanding officer, who investigates the alleged misconduct, holds a hearing, and determines whether to impose disciplinary measures. It is less formal than a court-martial and does not result in a criminal conviction

Today in A.A. History—July 5–7

In 1985, approximately 50,000 people attended the 8th International Convention in Montreal, Quebec, celebrating A.A.’s 50th anniversary [left]. Planning had been for only 28,000 attendees. As a result, downtown hotel rooms quickly filled up, and previously unused motels at the airports and in surrounding communities were pressed into service. Attendees were also accommodated in university dormitories and Laurentian resorts, with some even placed as far away as Sherbrooke (90 miles [~145 km]) and Burlington, Vermont (75 miles [~121 km]). A Seagram distillery stood across from the Palais des Congrès, the large new convention center where many events took place, with its flag flying at half-staff throughout the Convention!

Today in A.A. History—July 5–8

In 1990, an estimated 48,000 people attended A.A.’s 9th International Convention in Seattle, Washington, celebrating the organization’s 55th anniversary [right]. The theme of the event was “55 Years—One Day At A Time.” Participants came from seventy-five countries, including, for the first time, nations from the former Soviet Union.

July 4 in A.A. History

In 1939, the first A.A. meeting in Flatbush, Brooklyn [right, with Ebbets Field above and to the left of center], was held at the home of Harold and Emily S. Harold had sobered up in June 1938, and his story, “Smile at Me, With Me,” later appeared in the first edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

    This meeting complemented the only other A.A. gathering in New York City at the time, which had been started in a Manhattan apartment at 72nd Street and Riverside Drive, possibly the Chatsworth. That location had been lent to A.A. by Leonard and Helga Harrison after Bill and Lois W. lost their home at 182 Clinton Street in April. Leonard [left] would go on to become a Class A (non-alcoholic) Trustee of the Alcoholic Foundation in 1941.

In 1970, at the 5th International Convention in Miami, Florida, in an effort to emulate the Toronto experience of adopting the Responsibility Statement five years earlier, participants in the big Sunday evening meeting in the Convention Hall [right] closed with the Declaration of Unity, saying in unison:

This we owe to A.A.’s future: to place our common welfare first; to keep our fellowship united. For on A.A. unity depend our lives, and the lives of those to come.

    It was an emotional and moving moment, but without Bill W. there to lead the ceremony, this pledge had neither the impact nor the lasting quality of the “I Am Responsible” Statement. Like that Statement, this Declaration was written by Al S. [left].

Today in A.A. History—July 4–6

In 1975, the 6th International Convention celebrating A.A.’s 40th anniversary took place in Denver, Colorado [right].

July 3 in A.A. History

In 1955, at 4:00 PM in St. Louis, Missouri, during the 2nd International Convention, Bernard Smith [right], the non-alcoholic Chairman of the Alcoholics Anonymous Board of Trustees, called to order the only “open” session of the General Service Conference ever held, which was the final session of the 5th such conference. He said,

    We have completed in four days all of the tasks that have been allotted to us, save only one: that is the adoption of the resolution authorizing the General Service Conference to act for Alcoholics Anonymous and to become the successor to its co-founders. Only this Conference, in all humility, has the power, within the concepts of A.A., to adopt this resolution, and only after it has evidence of the acceptance by all of A.A., in this Convention assembled.

    He then introduced Bill W. [left: at podium in St. Louis], who spoke briefly and read the proposed resolution. The attendees responded with loud approval. Smith requested and received a motion for the Conference to formally adopt the resolution that had just been overwhelmingly approved by the Convention, which was seconded. The Conference Delegates voted unanimously in favor, marking what Bill described as the “Coming of Age” of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 1965, at 10:25 PM during the 4th International Convention in Toronto, Ontario [right], A.A.’s “Responsibility Declaration” was adopted. Ninety delegates and members from around the world emerged from behind a large banner at the back of the stage, which depicted the A.A. triangle within a circle, symbolizing the globe. They joined the Trustees who were already seated. The audience of approximately 10,000 stood, joined hands, and, led by Bill and Lois W., thunderously recited the Responsibility Declaration in unison:

    I am responsible. When anyone, anywhere reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there. And for that: I am responsible.

    This Declaration was written for the occasion by Class B Trustee Howard Alfred “Al” S. [left]. It has since been printed, quoted, and recited countless times. Attempts to modify the wording at General Service Conferences to make it more specific to alcoholics and less inclusive have been made at least twice, but all have failed—largely due to the absurdity of trying to retroactively alter the historical event that took place that day in Toronto.

Today in A.A. History—July 3–5

In 1970, nearly 11,000 attendees from every state and province, along with participants from 28 foreign countries, gathered in Miami, Florida, for the 5th International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous to celebrate its 35th anniversary [right].

Today in A.A. History—July 3–6

In 1980, approximately 22,500 people attended the 7th International Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, celebrating A.A.’s 45th anniversary [left]. The planning had anticipated 25,000 attendees, resulting in a loss of $208,000 [~$811,500 in 2025]. The keynote theme was “The Joy of Living.” This event featured the first screening of the film Markings on the Journey, the inaugural Archives Workshop, the first “genuine” marathon meeting, and the first events specifically for gays and lesbians. Marty M. [right, 1980] was one of the featured speakers.

    During the main meeting on Sunday, July 6, a candle from the Marathon Meeting was brought to the stage and blown out by Pete, who had been sober for only two days. He had been drinking and approached a conventioneer to ask about the meaning of his badge. He was immediately 12th-stepped and taken to the Marathon Meeting. The Superdome crowd erupted in deafening applause. Reportedly, Pete stayed sober. 

    Then, a speaker not on the program went the microphone: “My name is Bob S., and I’m in Al-Anon.” The audience was puzzled. Bob [left] continued, “I am probably the only person here today who was present when Bill met Dr. Bob.” The crowd gasped. “I am Dr. Bob’s only son!” The audience erupted into tears and wild applause.

July 2 in A.A. History

In 1936, Paul S. [right], who had met Dr. Bob S. in January, became A.A. #5^* in Akron, Ohio. Paul’s story, “Truth Freed Me!” appeared in the first edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. The following February, he would introduce his brother, Dick, to the program.

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^* Note: Other sources say he was #11; different lists provide differing numberings.

In 2000, the 20 millionth copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was presented to the Al-Anon Family Groups during the 2000 International Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which celebrated A.A.’s 65th anniversary.

Today in A.A. History—July 2–4

In 1965, an estimated 10,400 people from 32 countries attended the 4th International Convention, celebrating A.A.’s 30th anniversary in Toronto, Ontario [left: big meeting in Maple Leaf Gardens]. Local hotels and motels were fully booked, leading to the first-ever provision of free busing for attendees.

    Among the speakers was non-alcoholic Trustee Bernard Smith [right], who remarked:

You have something great and awesome going for you. Treat it tenderly, respect what it has done for you and what it can do for others… As long as one man dwells in the darkness you once knew, you cannot rest; you must try to find him and help him become one of you… By the grace of God, may A.A. last for all time!

At the Convention, a packet of pamphlets titled The Best of Bill was introduced. Each packet included five A.A. Grapevine essays by Bill W. on “Faith,” “Fear,” “Honesty,” “Humility,” and “Love.”

Additionally, a pocket-sized gift edition of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions was introduced [left]. Finally, the film Bill’s Own Story [right] premiered to overflowing audiences throughout the weekend.

    A historic moment occurred when Bill suggested that the crowd join hands to recite the Lord’s Prayer, closing the big meeting at Maple Leaf Gardens (the first International Convention to do so).
    Non-alcoholic Trustee Harrison Trice requested a beer at the Royal York bar, only to be sternly told by the bartender, “No slips in here, brother.”

Today in A.A. History—July 2–5

In 2015, the 14th International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous took place in Atlanta, Georgia, celebrating A.A.’s 80th anniversary [right: big meeting in Georgia Dome]. During the event, the 35 millionth copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was presented to Sister Judith Ann Karam of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, the same religious order as Sister Ignatia.

In 2020, the 15th International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous, which was set to celebrate A.A.’s 85th anniversary in Detroit, Michigan, had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [left: Ford Field, proposed site of big meetings at the 2020 International Convention].

July 1 in A.A. History

In 1863, after dark, Gardner Fayette Griffith (Bill W.’s maternal grandfather) [right] arrived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with the 14th Vermont Regiment.They had been force-marched 130 miles [~210 km] in over 7 days from Washington, DC, to join the Union’s Army of the Potomac as General Robert E. Lee’s rebel army invaded Pennsylvania in late June. It rained every day during that week. The regiment took up a position near Cemetery Hill [left: map with gold arrow near the bottom showing their position during Pickett’s Charge].

In 1938, Honor Dealers, based in Newark, New Jersey, which had been founded by Hank P. [right], had to relocate from 11 Hill St. [far left] to a smaller two-room suite (#601) on the 6th floor of 17 Williams St. [near left]. Both locations also served as the service office for what would later become Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 1995, the Los Angeles Times published Tony Perry’s article, “AA Quietly Marks 60 Years of Deep Impact on Society” [right: my re-creation]. In this over 2,600-word piece, Perry discusses the tens of thousands who were celebrating Alcoholics Anonymous’ 60th anniversary in San Diego, as well as the history of the Fellowship and its program of recovery.

In 2000, Nancy F. spoke at the Metrodome during the Saturday night session of the 11th International Convention, which celebrated A.A.’s 65th anniversary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Though she was petite and had to stand on a platform to reach the microphone, her spirited presence evoked thunderous applause and cheers of “More!” from the crowd.

In 2002, the first meeting of the month-long Online Service Conference commenced, with approximately 49 interested members representing about 32 online groups in attendance. From the invitation to the conference: 

    The concept of a self-contained general service conference for the online AA world has been, and will continue to be, controversial. Your group’s participation in this exploratory July meeting by sending a rep does not imply your group’s membership in an eventual conference, or even agreement to its principles. It’s just an opportunity for your group to be present at what may someday prove to be another historic moment in AA history.

In 2003, the third meeting of the month-long Online Service Conference commenced, with 43 groups represented. Including alternates and steering committee members, total attendance reached 57.

Today in A.A. History—July 1–3

In 1863, Gardner Fayette Griffith (Bill W.’s maternal grandfather) served in Company B of the 14th Vermont Regiment. This unit was merged with the 12th, 13th, 15th, and 16th Regiments to create the 2nd Vermont Brigade, which was assigned to the 1st Army Corps.
    John C. Williams later said of these men,

    The regiment bore a conspicuous part in the battle of Gettysburg, and was highly complimented, both by Gen. Stannard, Brigade Commander, and by Gen. Abner Doubleday, the commandant of the division. Though exposed to the severest fire of the enemy, not a man shirked his duty, but all stood their ground, ‘as though rooted to the earth.’ The 2d Vt., brigade being placed in the front line, in the center position, —the most important in the whole line, for nearly twenty-four hours, it gallantly repelled a vigorous attack, by an overwhelming force of seventeen thousand rebels, and after sustaining a terrific fire from seventy-five to one hundred pieces of artillery, the result of which contributed essentially towards achieving one of the most glorious and decisive victories of the war. The casualties of the fourteenth regiment were twenty-five killed and seventy-five wounded.

In 1955, an estimated 5,000 registrants attended the 2nd International Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, celebrating A.A.’s 20th anniversary. However, the actual number of paid registrations was only 3,800, resulting in an operating deficit of $25,000 [~$300,000 in 2025], which accounted for 10% of the entire annual budget for the New York office and the Trustees. General Manager Hank F. G.^*, Dennis Manders, and the Trustees agreed that this should be A.A.’s last convention, as the Fellowship could not sustain such significant losses. However, when this recommendation was presented at the 1956 General Service Conference, it was rejected.

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^* Source says “Hank C.”, which I think is a mistake.

In 1960, an official estimate reported that 10,000 people attended the 3rd International Convention in Long Beach, California, celebrating A.A.’s 25th anniversary. However, the actual number of paid registrants was closer to 8,700. Despite this, the Convention generated an operating surplus of $600 [~$6,500 in 2025]. Both Long Beach and San Francisco expressed interest in hosting the event, and the final decision was made by a coin toss between the Delegates from Southern and Northern California. The Trustees required local groups to raise sufficient funds to ensure there would be no financial loss and later agreed to match whatever amount was raised, a practice that continued until 1975. While the full story of the event is both fascinating and lengthy, one memorable detail is that they ran out of coffee!

Today in A.A. History—July 1–4

In 1993, six or seven thousand A.A. members and friends from Canada, the U.S., South America, Europe, and Asia gathered in Toronto, Ontario, to celebrate 50 years of Alcoholics Anonymous in Canada. The event featured participants from countries such as Mexico, the West Indies, Brazil, England, Ireland, Scotland, Holland, and Sri Lanka. The comprehensive program included 31 speaker meetings, 26 panels, 40 marathon meetings lasting 50 hours, and two talkathons.

In 2010, despite the ongoing threat of bad weather from the remnants of Hurricane Alex^*, approximately 53,000 people attended the 13th International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous in San Antonio, Texas, themed “A Vision For You” [left: a Big Meeting at the Alamodome].
    During the event, the 30 millionth copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was presented to Rebecca Patchin, former chair of the American Medical Association’s Board of Trustees.

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^* Hurricane Alex's spiral bands brought tropical storm-force winds to southern Texas, reaching a peak of 51 mph [82 km/h] in Port Isabel. The storm also set rainfall accumulation records, caused a storm surge of at least 3.5 feet [1.1 meters] that eroded beaches, and spawned nine tornadoes, all rated EF0. The storm dissipated on July 6 [below: Hurricane Alex making landfall on Mexico at peak intensity on July 1; track map of Hurricane Alex, showing the location of the storm at 6-hour intervals. The color represents the storm's maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir–Simpson scale, and the shape of the data points represent the nature of the storm, according to the legend below]. 

WHITE TEXT HERE