May 28 in A.A. History

1907: Conor Flynn [right] was likely born in County Roscommon, Ireland. After immigrating to the United States, he would get sober in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1943. Three years later, in 1946, he and Richard P. O’Connor would co-found the first Alcoholics Anonymous group in Dublin, making it the first A.A. group in Europe.

1974: The A.A. Fellowship of Great Britain was chosen to host the 3rd biennial A.A. World Service Meeting. It would mark the first time the event was held outside the United States. The Site Committee, comprising members selected at the 2nd World Service Meeting, had recommended England as the top choice for the 1974 gathering, “with Mexico or Finland as second and third choices,” respectively. The meeting was scheduled for 16–18 October 1974, at London’s Gloucester Hotel.

2021: Josh E., Chair of the A.A. Grapevine, Inc. Board, sent a memo [left] to General Service Conference members in the U.S. and Canada. In it, he announced that the revised Preamble—which replaced “men and women” with “people”—would first appear in July’s A.A. Grapevine. He also addressed certain concerns that had been raised.

    We’ve also received a number of inquiries about whether this negatively impacts the editorial independence of Grapevine. Please remember that the Grapevine Board, Publisher and Editors discussed this topic for an entire year over a series of board meetings. Ultimately it was agreed that Grapevine has the right of decision and foundational editorial independence. We felt that such a change would affect the groups as a whole and in keeping with Tradition 4, we sought the input from those it might affect by sending the discussion to the General Service Conference.
    The topic was actively discussed in groups across the United States and Canada for two years over both the 70th and 71st General Service conference panels. As a result of those conversations the Delegates of the General Service Conference passed a series of votes, in a sequence of events that culminated with the final advisory action.

A.A. History—month & day unknown

1916: Originally published in Paris in the December 1912 issue of the magazine La Clochette (The Little Bell), the French prayer “Belle prière à faire pendant la messe” (A Beautiful Prayer to Say During the Mass)—which would later become known as “The Prayer of St. Francis”—was translated into Italian and featured on the front page of L’Osservatore Romano [right: 15 May 1891 issue], the Vatican’s daily newspaper. It was titled “Le preghiere del ‘Souvenir Normand’ per la pace” (The Prayers of “Souvenir Normand” for Peace). 
    The organization “Souvenir Normand” identified itself as “a work of peace and justice inspired by the testament of William the Conqueror, who is considered to be the ancestor of all the royal families of Europe.” Consequently, this title led to the prayer being mistakenly attributed to William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and first Norman King of England.
    Shortly thereafter, the newspaper La Croix [left: 17–18 December 1916 issue] (The Cross) reprinted the L’Osservatore Romano article in French, using essentially the exact same heading and explanatory text. The French Marquis Stanislas de La Rochethulon, who had sent the original French prayer to Pope Benedict XV the previous year, wrote to La Croix to clarify that it was not a prayer from Souvenir Normand. However, he did not mention its original publication in La Clochette. Because of its prominent appearance in L’Osservatore Romano and La Croix as a simple prayer for peace during World War I, the prayer gained widespread recognition.

 

1917: [Early] After passing his physical examination for induction into the US Army, Bill W. [right: in uniform, 1918] is called up. He has his first taste of alcohol—a beer, which does nothing for him. Later, while being entertained with other servicemen at Grinnells’, he tries his first mixed drink: a Bronx Cocktail. This leads to a glorious first “high,” making him feel at ease and comfortable for the first time in his life. 

A.A. History—year, month & day unknown

~1913: At 14, Charles Henry “Charlie” S. [left, allegedly] ran away from the farm where he lived. He befriended some hobos and, with two of them, boarded a train bound for Detroit. When they arrived, one of them, Tom Casey, took Charlie under his wing, securing them both a room with a kindly Irish landlady. For the next two years, Tom looked after Charlie, teaching him what not to do, making sure he started a bank account, and encouraging him to keep it growing.
    Charlie’s story, “Riding the Rods,” later appeared in the first edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

Early 1920s: At the College of the City of New York, Dr. Frederick “Freddie” B. [right, 1923] was developing courses in economic chemistry.