July 18 in A.A. History

In 1918, Bill W. sailed on the H.M.T.^* Lancashire [right] from Boston, Massachusetts, to New York City Harbor. From there, the Lancashire would take him and his unit to England. After a two-week quarantine in Winchester due to a minor epidemic, they would be sent to France, where they would serve behind the lines for the remainder of the Great War (World War I), which would end in less than four months.

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

In 1938, Dr. Esther L. Richards [left] of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, responded very positively to the two-chapter prospectus for what would eventually become the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, which Bill W. had sent her.

    In her reply [right], she advised, “I think you should get an A No. 1 physician who has a wide knowledge of the alcoholic’s medical and social problem to write an introduction…” Within a few days, Dr. William D. Silkworth would write the “To Whom It May Concern” letter that would become the first letter of “The Doctor’s Opinion” in the book.

    Dr. Richards’ letter clearly indicates that Bill was already using the term “Alcoholics Anonymous” as both the working title of the book and the name of the Fellowship.

In 1940, the Richmond (Virginia) Times Dispatch published Pat Jones’ article titled “‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ Organizes in Richmond for Attack on Common Enemy” and subtitled, “‘It Changed Me From a Monkey Into a Man’ Says One Member.’” The article [left] begins:

    A national organization with no paid officers, no dues, no membership rolls, has gained a nucleus in Richmond and, in September, will start earnestly upon its self-appointed task of curing alcoholics who actually want to be cured.

In 1965, Frank B. Amos, [near right], 83, died in Anderson, Indiana. His obituary [far right] in The New York Times referred to him as “one of the five original co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.”

    However, he was actually one of the five original Class A (non-alcoholic) Trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation, a trusted associate of the Rockefellers, and a close friend of A.A. He was buried in Northwood Cemetery in Cambridge, Ohio.