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.

December 30 in A.A. History

In 1921, Ella Brock Griffith, 72, Bill W.’s maternal grandmother, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in her bed in Dorset, Vermont. She and her husband, Gardner Fayette Griffith, had raised Bill and his sister, Dorothy, from the age of 10. She would be buried in East Dorset Cemetery [right: death certificate; left: gravestone].

In 2021, Arthur S. [left], 81, of Arlington, Texas died after a long illness. 
    Born and raised in Yonkers, New York, Arthur attended one of the first computer schools in the world. He spent his entire professional life working with computers, and retired to Texas where he pursued his avocation as a historian—traveling the country with friends giving history presentations. He authored “A Narrative Timeline of AA History,” perhaps the most detailed and accurate compendium of facts about A.A. history.

December 29 in A.A. History

In 1946, Dr. Bob S. [near right] wrote a two-page note [below left] to Ed W. [far right], presumably upon receiving some gems or jewels from him:

My Dear Ed, –
    The [illegible] reached me safely & thanks a lot for them. My jeweller [sic] is taking them to NY some time next month to see what can be done with them most advantageously. I imagine that the red one will wind up as a pendant. It was swell of you to send them. I have enjoyed your little book very much & know that it will prove to be of a lot of help to many. I had a number of letters & cards from folks at camp, [illegible], McCombs, Dr. Bennett, [illegible] Schneiders, Muenknoellers, et al. Wish we could go up next year but have serious misgivings about it. It does not look now as tho we could. Am following your advice and leave in ten days for Florida for a month.
    Love to Hazel
        Most sincerely
            Dr. Bob

Dr. Bob’s reference to “your little book,” was to The Little Red Book: A Suggested Outline for Reference and Study of the Working Mechanics of the Twelve Steps [right: cover]. Ed was the primary author, while Dr. Bob was one of several contributors who assisted in its writing and editing.

December 28 in A.A. History

In 1890, Frank Horace C. [right], known as “Horace,” was born in Manhattan to Frances Moore and Joseph C. He was the second of four children, all boys. Horace would join Alcoholics Anonymous in December 1938 and become actively involved in a number of projects within the Fellowship.

In 1988, John Bolton “Captain Jack” S. [near left: as a young man] died [far left: obituary] in Portland, Maine, where he had retired. He became an oil tanker captain in the mid-1930s and achieved sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous in 1946. He played a crucial role in founding what became the Loners Internationalists Meeting and its confidential bulletin, a publication for “Loners,” “Homers,” “Internationalists,” “Port Contacts” (who served as liaisons for Internationalists visiting their port cities), and “Loner Sponsors.” Alongside hundreds of Internationalists like him, he sailed the seven seas, spreading the A.A. message wherever they dropped anchor and contributing significantly to A.A.’s remarkable global growth.

December 27 in A.A. History

In 1893, Samuel Moor Shoemaker [right] was born in a second-floor front room of a rented house on Read Street in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of Ellen Ward “Nellie” Whitridge, who later became president of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, and Samuel Moor Shoemaker, Jr., who eventually served as chairman of the Board of Regents of the University of Maryland. His parents had met at Emmanuel Church in Baltimore, where Sam’s uncle was the rector.
    When Sam was two years old, the family would move to their country home, Burnside, located about ten miles [~16 km] north of Baltimore. For Sam, this was home throughout his life. Between 1860 and 1863, his grandfather had purchased thirteen tracts of land, totaling 467 acres [nearly 2 km²], that comprised Burnside—a beautiful piece of land nestled between two lines of gently rolling hills in the Green Spring Valley.

In 1957, Dr. A. Weise Hammer [left], 77, died [below right: obituary]. He was an early supporter of Alcoholics Anonymous in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bill W.’s tribute to him in the May 1957 issue of the A.A. Grapevine provided the following “abbreviated list” of his contributions:

    Opened his home to all AA members—secured the Philadelphia Group its first meeting rooms—introduced us to Dr. Stouffer, another great friend-to-be, who was then Chief Psychiatrist at the Philadelphia General Hospital—secured us treatment and visiting privileges there—had AAs speak before the County Medical Society—along with his good wife, Helen, attended nearly every AA meeting for years—gave free medical and surgical aid to every AA who wanted it—visited other cities to talk about AA and paid the expenses of the Philadelphia members he took along—offered to buy the Philadelphia Group its first clubhouse (which had to be declined)—saw that his friend, Judge Curtis Bok, owner of The Saturday Evening Post, became interested in AA—and finally induced the Judge to assign Jack Alexander to do the famous article in 1941 that made our fellowship a national institution.

December 26 in A.A. History

In 1902, Clarence S. [near right] was born at 1280 E. 89th St., Cleveland, Ohio, to Charles [center right] and Jenny Patterson S. [far right]. It was a cold, gray winter morning, with snow and a brisk wind in the forecast. He was the youngest of three boys [left: S. family, c. 1907].
    On 11 February 1938, he would sober up in Akron, Ohio, and would have a falling out with his sponsor, Dr. Bob S., over efforts to enable Catholics to attend A.A. meetings. Catholic priests forbade parishioners from associating with the Oxford Group, with which Akron A.A. was deeply involved. When Dr. Bob refused to take action, Clarence started a new group in Cleveland on 11 May 1939, naming it the Alcoholics Anonymous Group after the newly published book. He sought publicity for A.A., resulting in rapid growth; invented the concept of sponsorship as we know it; distanced himself from the Oxford Group; focused on spirituality while avoiding religion; emphasized the use of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous; and helped create the Cleveland Central Committee, which introduced the concept of rotation.
    However, Clarence’s youthful broadmindedness appeared to diminish over the years, leading him to become more rigid as he got older.

In 1940, The St. Louis Star–Times published a favorable article about A.A. with the headline, “Alcoholics Anonymous, Fraternity that Streamlined the Waterwagon, Has Formed a Group in St. Louis” [left].

In 2001, The Boston Globe published David Mehegan’s article “AA’s growing pains evident in revision of its Big Book” [right]. It noted that

    Until now, the Big Book had been revised only twice: in 1955 and 1976. Now the fourth edition is just off the press, and its painstaking revision is a window into the delicacy of tinkering with a book that many people revere as inspired scripture.…
    While there may be unanimity on the first 164 pages, there is none about the stories.…
    …in the [revision] committee, there was no consensus on the stories, which constitute 80 per-cent of the book. 
    So the committee decided to research [Bill] W――’s writings to find out his attitude toward the book—much as constitutional scholars dig into what James Madison or John Adams meant by “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
    They found, says Richard [the committee chair], that “Bill always saw the book as organic and dynamic, never locked in. The book was not for those of us who were already here. That was cold water for many. People who had been in AA for 30 years said, ‘But you can’t take out that story – it’s my favorite.’ But we had to say, ‘We don’t care. You’re sober now. We need to change it for the new people.’”

December 25 in A.A. History

In 1962, Paul H., Esq. [near right, 1956], 59, the last surviving member of a prominent Butte, Montana family, died of a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee. He would be buried three days later in the family mausoleum in Butte [far right]. 
    His father, Daniel H. founded a department store bearing the family name in Butte [far left, 1901]. Paul was born in Butte, attended the University of Virginia, and was a Rhodes Scholar [right: The Kevin Review, Kevin, Montana, page 1 headline]. He studied at Oxford and became a lawyer. He had survived a botched frontal lobotomy in 1936, sobered up in Washington, D.C., in 1940, and in January 1948 dictated the first known account by Bill W. (from memory) of how he had written the Twelve Steps for the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

December 24 in A.A. History

In 1934, Bill W. met his first real prospect, Frederick Ernest B. [right, 1923], who would be known within A.A. circles as “the chemistry professor.” Since his discharge from Towns Hospital, Bill had been wandering the gutters of the Bowery, the “nut ward” at Bellevue Hospital, the corridors of fleabag hotels, and the detox unit at Towns Hospital, looking for alcoholics willing to try his approach to staying sober.
    Dr. Frederick E. Breithut was a prominent chemist, educator, and leader in 1920s America. He had served as president of the American Institute of Chemists from 1928 to 1932, headed Brooklyn College’s chemistry department, and contributed to the U.S. War Department’s Chemical Warfare Service as a Major during and after World War I (WWI).
    Amid disruptions to chemical supplies by Germany during the war, Dr. Breithut helped the U.S. achieve self-sufficiency in dyes, pharmaceuticals, and coal-tar products. In 1923, Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover had appointed him as chemical trade commissioner to Germany; within months, he had sent a report on Swiss coal-tar statistics to Dr. Charles H. Herty, advisor to the Chemical Foundation. This report addressed critical U.S. dependencies on potash, nitrates, and synthetics.
    As president of the American Institute of Chemists (AIC), Dr. Breithut advocated for chemists’ licensing [left: The New York Times, 28 May 1928], better pay, and public recognition, including the awarding of the prestigious AIC Gold Medal [right] to:

	Mr. and Mrs. Francis P. Garvan, for establishing the Chemical Foundation [far left: headline, The New York Times, 29 May 1929, p. 3];  Mr. George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak and inventor of the roll-film camera [far right: headline, The New York Times, 17 February 1930, p. 12];  Mr. Andrew W. Mellon and Mr. Richard B. Mellon, founders, with their father, of Mellon Bank [near left: The New York Times, 24 Mar 1931, p. 19]; and  Dr. Charles H. Herty, president of the American Chemical Society, the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers’ Association and the Chemical Foundation [near right: The New York Times, 23 January 1932].

    He had shaped debates over professional standards while advocating for American chemical autonomy between WWI and WWII.
    At the same time, Dr. Breithut was involved in the founding of Brooklyn College [left: campus, 2016], New York City’s first public coeducational liberal arts college, in 1931. He had served as faculty chair of the organizing committee for the inauguration of Dr. William A. Boylan, the first prespresident of the college; planned and organized science curricula; headed the chemistry department; and chaired its building committee until “ill health” [right: letter, Dr. Boylan to Hon. Mark Eisner, 12 January 1937] led him to resign in 1937.

December 23 in A.A. History

In 1901, Bernard B. Smith [right, 1939] was born in the Bronx, New York, the third of four children of Isaac and Fannie Stuzen Smith, both Yiddish-speaking Russian immigrants. He would become a member of the Alcoholic Foundation Board in 1944, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Alcoholic Foundation (renamed the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1954) from 1951–1956, and 1st Vice President of the General Service Board from 1956 until his death in late July 1970.

December 22 in A.A. History

In 1959, Frank Shaw, 73, died [right: obituary, The New York Times; funeral notice, The Bridgeport Post]. He had been an early supporter of Bill W.’s stock market theories, and married Elsie Valentine, a close childhood friend of Bill’s wife, Lois. 

In 2015, The Saturday Evening Post republished “Alcoholics Anonymous: Freed Slaves of Drink, Now They Free Others,” authored by Jack Alexander [left]. The republished version duplicated the original article [below left: 1st page] but included a note stating, “Jack Alexander introduced Alcoholics Anonymous to a national stage when this article was published on March 1, 1941.” Additionally, it featured an Editor’s Note:

    AA had its beginnings in 1935 when a doctor and a layman, both alcoholics, helped each other recover and then developed, with a third recovering alcoholic, the organization’s guiding principles. By 1941, the group had demonstrated greater success in helping alcoholics than any previous methods and had grown to about 2,000 members. But for most of North America, AA was still unknown. Following the March 1, 1941, publication of an article in The Saturday Evening Post describing AA’s extraordinary success, inquiries began to flood in, leaving the small staff of what was then a makeshift headquarters overwhelmed. Alcoholics Anonymous tripled in size in the next year and continued to grow exponentially. Today, 75 years later, AA claims 2 million members worldwide, 1.2 million of them in the U.S.…

December 21 in A.A. History

In 1981, United Press International published an article by Charles S. Taylor titled “First Year Crucial for Reformed Alcoholics” [left: from Dubois (PA) Courier Express, 30 Dec 1981, p. 8], reported on a study involving 439 alcoholics who were members of Alcoholics Anonymous and had been sober for at least one year. The study was conducted by Dr. LeClair Bissell [right], who, as President, led the American Society of Addiction Medicine^* and worked with alcoholics at Edgehill Newport [left], a treatment center in Newport, Rhode Island. 
    The article described the research as “the first long-term study of a large group of alcoholics” and noted it had “reached an encouraging conclusion—most chronic drinkers who can stay off booze for one year have a good chance at continued sobriety.” Dr. Bissell said that alcoholics who receive counseling for their problem and abstain for a year usually don’t touch alcohol again for up to seven years. She also observed that abstinence seems to help alcoholics stop smoking, reduce suicidal behavior, reduce encounters with the police and significantly lower hospitalizations for any reason. Dr. Bissell strongly criticized psychologists who try to return recovered alcoholics to “social drinking,” saying, “I think they’re killing a lot of people by encouraging them to return to drinking.”
    Dr. Bissell was also a member of the Carter Mental Health Commission’s Task Force on Alcoholism, founder of International Pharmacists Anonymous [right: logo], and co-author of The Cat Who Drank Too Much (1982) [left: cover].

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^*Misnamed as "American Society on Alcoholism" in the article.