August 8, 1879 |
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Robert Holbrook Smith born in St. Johnsbury
Vermont |
Nov. 26, 1895 |
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William (Bill) Griffith Wilson was born in a
small room behind a bar in East Dorsett, VT., to Gilman
and Emily Wilson. |
1901 |
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Professor William James lectures at University of
Edinburgh, Scotland. Lectures published as The Varieties
of Religious Experience in 1902. |
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Bill's father, Gilman, deserts the family.
Bill's mother, Emily, moves to Boston and becomes an
Osteopathic Physician. Bill and sister Dorothy live with
maternal grandparents, Fayette and Ella Griffith.
Bill's first "success" making a boomerang -
"a fitting irony". |
1907 |
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About age 12 Bill "leaves the Church" over a
required temperance pledge. |
1908 |
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Oxford Group begun as A First Century Christian
Fellowship. Frank Buchman, Founder. They espoused the Four
Absolutes: Honesty, Purity, Unselfishness, and Love. They
practiced the principles of self-survey confession;
restitution; and service to others. |
1909 |
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Bill begins secondary education at Burr & Burton
Academy. |
1911 |
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Ebby Thatcher and Bill first meet. |
1912 |
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Bill's "first love", Bertha Bamford, dies
after surgery in New York. Bill began a three year
depression. |
1914-1918 |
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World War I |
1914 |
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Bill enters Norwich University - a military college with
strict discipline.
Bill meets Lois Burnham, daughter of New York physician
Dr. Clark Burnham. |
April 6, 1917 |
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U.S. enters World War I. |
Summer 1917 |
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A Second Lieutenant in the coast artillery at Ft.
Rodman, Mass., Bill takes first remembered drink - Bronx
Cocktail - feels a miracle - relaxed and free. A profound
experience he recalled vividly more than 50 years later. |
Jan. 24, 1918 |
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Bill marries Lois Burnham. |
Summer 1918 |
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On way to France, Bill visits Winchester Cathedral and
is stirred by a "tremendous sense of presence".
Reads epitaph on headstone of a Hampshire Grenadier. |
Nov. 11, 1918 |
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Armistice signed, World War I ends. |
Jan. 16, 1919 |
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36 states ratified constitutional amendment for
prohibition |
May 1919 |
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Bill returns home. |
1920 |
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Bill enters Brooklyn Law School. |
1921 |
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An investigator for U.S. F & G and also works around
Wall Street. |
Christmas 1923 |
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Bill vows to stay sober one year - Lasted only 2 months. |
1925-26 |
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Bought motorcycle and became (First?) "Market
Analyst." Disease progressing. |
1926 |
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On Wall Street full time. Disease progressing. |
Late 1928 - Early 1929 |
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Bill crosses "invisible line" in his drinking. |
Oct. 1929 |
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Stock Market collapse. |
Nov. 1929 |
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Bill goes to Canada for a job with Dick Johnson. |
1930 - 31 |
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Back in Brooklyn and Wall Street. Living with Lois's
family - unemployed. Disease progressing. |
1930-34 |
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Bill in "An Alcoholic Hell". |
1931 |
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Rowland Hazzard sees Dr. Carl Jung in Zurich,
Switzerland. Told no medical or psychological hope for an
alcoholic of his type; told the only hope was a spiritual
or religious experience or conversion. This considered
"the first in the chain of events that led to the
founding of A.A." |
Spring 1932 |
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Bill's business deal in New Jersey - drank Apple Jack
and drunk three days. Contract cancelled. |
1933-34 |
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Bill in Towns Hospital four times.
At Towns Hospital, Bill meets Dr. William Silkworth on
second admission. "The Little Doctor Who Loved
Drunks."
Bill resumes drinking after each admission. Disease
progressing. |
Dec. 5, 1933 |
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Prohibition ended. |
Summer 1934 |
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Dr. Silkworth pronounces Bill a "Hopeless
Drunk."
Rowland Hazzard returns to America and becomes involved in
Oxford Group. |
1934 |
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Emmett Fox publishes The Sermon On The Mount. |
Aug. 1934 |
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Rowland Hazzard and Cebra persuade court to parole Ebby
Thatcher in their custody. Ebby sobers up at Oxford Group
at Calvary Episcopal Mission, Sam Shoemaker. |
Nov. 1934 |
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Ebby T. carries message to Bill at home. Tells his
story. "One Alcoholic Talking To Another."
Bill starts attending Oxford Group at Calvary Church,
Bowery Mission.
Bill drinks again - Back to Towns Hospital. |
Dec. 1934 |
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Bill has "Hot Flash" spiritual experience at
Towns Hospital.
Dr. Silkworth assured Bill he was not crazy; rather a
"psychic experience upheaval" or
"conversion."
BILL NEVER DRANK AGAIN.
The next day Ebby brought Bill a copy of William James'
Varieties of Religious Experience.
Bill reads Varieties of ReligiousExperience, an
explanation of need for Pain, Suffering, Calamityand
"Deflation in Depth" and the "Simultaneous
Transmission of Hope." The two "Halves" are
joined into a "Whole." |
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Bill returns to Oxford Group and works with other
alcoholics, also at Sam Shoemaker's Calvary Mission and at
Towns Hospital, emphasizing his "Hot Flash"
spiritual experience. He noted they "seemed to do
better" talking of their common problems, but no
success in sobering up others.
Bill develops belief that alcoholics are resistant to the
"Four Absolutes" of the Oxford Group. |
1935 |
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Bill, still sober, but no success yet in helping others.
Still frequents Wall Street. Went to Akron Ohio for proxy
fight. Lost proxy fight. Bill at Mayflower Hotel. Very
discouraged and afraid he might drink. |
May 11, 1935 |
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Bill reached realization of: I need another alcoholic.
"He starts making telephone calls. This is the final
founding moment of A.A.
Rev. Walter Tunks Referred to Norman Sheppard. Then
referred to Henrietta Seiberling, an Oxford Group
adherent. She arranged a meeting the next afternoon at the
Seiberling Estate with Dr. Bob Smith. |
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Robert Holbrook (Bob) Smith: Born in St.
Johnsbury, VT., Aug. 8, 1879. Dartmouth College, Pre-Med
at University of Michigan. M.D. at Rush Medical College,
Chicago, IL. Internat City Hospital, Akron, OH.
Proctologist. His wife, Anne was a friend of Henrietta
Seiberling. They brought Dr. Bob to Oxford Group meetings
for 2-1/2 yrs. He continued to get drunk regularly. |
May 12, 1935
5:00 P.M. |
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Bill meets Dr. Bob. Bob still drinking. Bill tells Bob
of his experiences with alcohol; of the hopes, promises,
and failures; the obsession, compulsion, and physical
allergy; of Ebby's visit and simple message, "show me
your faith and by my works I will show you mine."
Dr. Bob understood with sudden clarity - the difference
withthe Oxford Group. "The spiritual approach was as
useless as any other if you soaked it up like a sponge and
kept it to yourself." The purpose of life was not to
"get" , it was to "give."
Bill had presented Dr. Bob four aspects of one core idea:
(1) Utter Hopelessness
(2) Totally Deflated
(3) Requiring Conversion
(4) Needing Others |
June 10, 1935 |
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Dr. Bob has last drink.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS FOUNDED |
June 11, 1935 |
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Dr. Bob suggests they both start working with other
alcoholics. |
June 28, 1935 |
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Bill and Dr. Bob confront Bill Dotson, first "Man
on the Bed." Bill D. was a prominent attorney in
Akron. The 3rd A.A. Note: Bill D. had a spiritual
experience without familiarity with Oxford Group
principals. |
Summer 1935 |
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Bill stayed in in Akron. He and Dr. Bob worked with
alcoholics and attended weekly Oxford Group meetings and
received spiritual nourishment.
Henrietta Seiberling supplied them with "Infusion of
Spirituality" mainly through Paul to Corinthians on
"Love" and James on "Works" if faith
is to have meaning. |
Winter 1935 |
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Back in New York on Clinton St., Hank P. and Fitz M. got
sober. |
Mid 1936 |
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A small but solid group developing at Clinton St. in New
York.
Bill's efforts with alcoholics receiving criticism from
Oxford Group.
Charles Towns offers Bill a job at Towns Hospital. Bill
wanted it. The question was presented to the Group and
rejected because what they had, the "thing" that
bound them together and those feelings could not be bought
and paid for. The only authority was the Group Conscience
and all decisions were to be made by the Group. |
1937 |
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Beginning of the split from the Oxford Group.
Residents at Clinton St.
Ebby T.
Oscar V.
Russell R.
Bill C.
Florence R. |
Nov. 1937 |
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Bill and Dr. Bob meet in Akron and compare notes. Forty
cases sober and staying sober. More than twenty sober for
more than one year. All had been diagnosed as HOPELESS.
A meeting of the Akron Group to consider Bill's ideas for
a book, pamphlets and how to expand the movement.
Presented but only narrowly passed by a majority of 2. |
Feb. 1938 |
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Rockefeller gives $5,000 and saves A.A. from
professionalism. |
May 1938 |
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The Alcoholic Foundation established as a trusteeship
for A.A. |
May 1938 |
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Beginning of the writing of the book Alcoholics
Anonymous. |
Dec. 1938 |
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Twelve Steps written. |
1939 |
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Membership reaches 100. |
April 1939 |
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The book Alcoholics Anonymous published. |
Summer 1939 |
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Withdrawal from association with Oxford Group complete.
Oxford Group renamed "Moral Re-Armament." |
1940 |
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Bill meets Father Ed Dowling who becomes his
"spiritual advisor." |
Feb. 1940 |
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First World Service Office for A.A. |
March 1941 |
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Jack Alexander's Saturday Evening Post article published
and membership jumped to 2000. |
Jan. 1944 |
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Dr. Harry Tiebout's first paper on the subject of
"alcoholics anonymous." |
June 1944 |
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The A.A. Grapevine established. |
1946 |
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The Twelve Traditions of A.A. formulated and published. |
June 1, 1949 |
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Anne Ripley Smith died. |
July 1950 |
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First international convention of A.A. at Cleveland,
Ohio. Twelve Traditions adopted. |
Nov. 16, 1950 |
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Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith, co-founder of Alcoholics
Anonymous died. |
June 1953 |
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The book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions published. |
Oct. 1954 |
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The "Alcoholic Foundation" becomes the
"General Service Board of A.A." |
July 1955 |
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20th Anniversary Convention at St. Louis, MO. Second
edition of Alcoholics Anonymous published. The three
legacies of Recovery, Unity and Service turned over to the
movement by its oldtimers. |
1957 |
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Creation of first overseas General Service Board of A.A.
in Great Britain and Ireland. A.A. Comes of Age published
in October. Membership reaches over 200,000 in 7,000
groups in 70 countries and U.S. possessions. |
1959 |
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A.A. Publishing, Inc. became A.A. World Services, Inc. |
July 1960 |
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25th Anniversary Convention at Long Beach, CA |
1962 |
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Publication of Twelve Concepts for World Service written
by Bill W. |
July 1965 |
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30th Anniversary Convention at Toronto, Canada. Keynote
adopted, "I Am Responsible." |
1966 |
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Change in ratio of trustees of the General Service
Board; now two-thirds majority of alcoholic members; the
A.A. fellowship accepts top responsibility for all it's
future affairs. |
1967 |
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Publication of the book The A.A. Way of Life now titled
As Bill Sees It. |
Oct. 9-11, 1969 |
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First World Service meeting held in New York with
delegates from 14 countries. |
1970 |
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35th Anniversary International Convention at Miami
Beach, Florida. Keynote: "This we owe to AA's of the
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." Bill's last public
appearance. |
Jan. 24, 1971 |
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William Griffith Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics
Anonymous, dies at Miami Beach, FL. |
Oct. 5-7, 1972 |
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Second World Service meeting held in New York. |
1973 |
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Publication of Came to Believe. |
April 1973 |
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Distribution of the book Alcoholics Anonymous reached
one million mark. |
1975 |
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Publication of Living Sober. |
1976 |
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Publication of 3rd Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. |
Oct. 5, 1988 |
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Lois Burnam Wilson died. |
November 2001 |
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Publication of Alcoholics Anonymous 4th Edition |
Feb. 9, 2002 |
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Death of Sue Smith Windows, Dr.Bob's daughter |
Sources:
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Bill W. by Robert Thompsen
Not God. A History of Alcoholics Anonymous by Ernest Kurtz
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, A.A. World Services,
Inc.
Pass It On - Bill Wilson and the A.A. Message, A.A. World
Services
The Language of the Heart, The A.A. Grapevine
Dr. Bob and the Good Old-Timers, A.A. World Services, Inc.
On The Tail of a Comet, The Life of Frank Buchman by Garth
Lean
The Washingtonian Movement, by Milton A. Maxwell, Ph.D.
A.A. The Way It Began, by Bill Pittman
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