{"id":1421,"date":"2019-02-19T00:00:29","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T05:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/?p=1421"},"modified":"2020-04-12T10:40:19","modified_gmt":"2020-04-12T15:40:19","slug":"aa-history-flowchart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/aa-history-flowchart\/","title":{"rendered":"AA History Flowchart"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently came across the following article below…\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s very easy to spend hours on the Internet these days digging up tons of historical references regarding Alcoholics Anonymous.\u00a0 My mission today is start logging chronologically the events in Sexaholics Anonymous history (e.g. Wiki<\/a>)<\/p>\n

                Flowchart of Events of Interest to Members\r\n                Of The Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous\r\n                                  by Miles M.\r\n                             \r\n \r\n                        William Griffith Wilson\r\n                        born Nov. 26, 1895, in a\r\n                        small room behind a bar in\r\n                        East Dorsett, VT., to Gilman\r\n1901 - Professor        and Emily Wilson.\r\nWilliam James lectures\r\nat University of \r\nEdinburgh, Scotland.\r\nLectures published as\r\nThe Varieties of \r\nReligious Experience\r\nin 1902.                Bill's father, Gilman, deserts                 \r\n                        the family.\r\n \r\n                        Bill's mother, Emily, moves to\r\n                        Boston and becomes an Osteopathic\r\n                        Physician.  Bill and sister\r\n                        Dorothy live with maternal grand-\r\n                        parents, Fayette and Ella\r\n                        Griffith.\r\n \r\n                        Bill's first \"success\" making a\r\n                        boomerang - \"a fitting irony\".\r\n \r\n                        @1907 - About age 12 Bill \"leaves\r\n                        the Church\" over a required \r\n1908 - Oxford Group     temperance pledge.\r\nbegun as A First Century\r\nChristian Fellowship.\r\nFrank Buchman, Founder.  \r\nThey espoused the Four\r\nAbsolutes:  Honesty,\r\nPurity, Unselfishness\r\nand Love.  They         1909 - Bill begins secondary\r\npracticed the princi-   education at Burr & Burton\r\nples of self-survey     Academy.\r\nconfession; restitution;\r\nand service to others.                                  1911 - Ebby Thatcher\r\n                                                        and Bill first met.\r\n \r\n                        1912 - Bill's \"first love\",\r\n                        Bertha Bamford, dies after\r\n                        surgery in New York.  Bill\r\n                        began a three year depression.\r\n1914-1918, World War I\r\n                        1914 - Bill enters Norwich\r\n                        University - a military college\r\n                        with strict discipline.\r\n                        \r\n                        Bill meets Lois Burnham, \r\n                        daughter of New York\r\n                        physician Dr. Clark Burnham.\r\nApril 6, 1917 - U.S.\r\nenters World War I.\r\n                        Summer 1917 - a Second Lieutenant\r\n                        in the coast artillery at Ft.\r\n                        Rodman, Mass., Bill takes first\r\n                        remembered drink - Bronx Cocktail\r\n                        - feels a miracle - relaxed and\r\n                        free.  A profound experience he\r\n                        recalled vividly more than 50\r\n                        years later.\r\n \r\n                        January 24, 1918 - Bill marries\r\n                        Lois Burnham.\r\n \r\n                        Summer 1918 - On way to France, \r\n                        Bill visits Winchester Cathedral\r\n                        and is stirred by a \"tremendous\r\n                        sense of presence\".  Reads\r\n                        epitaph on headstone of a \r\n                        Hampshire Grenadier.\r\nNov. 11, 1918 -                                         January 16, 1919 - 36\r\nArmistice signed,                                       states ratified \r\nWorld War I ends.                                       constitutional\r\n                        May 1919 - Bill returns home.   amendment for \r\n                                                        prohibition.\r\n                        1920 - Bill enters Brooklyn\r\n                        Law School.\r\n \r\n                        1921 - An investigator for U.S.\r\n                        F & G and also works around\r\n                        Wall Street.\r\n \r\n                        Christmas 1923 - Bill vows to \r\n                        stay sober one year - Lasted\r\n                        only 2 months.\r\n \r\n                        1925-26 - Bought motorcycle and\r\n                        became (First?) \"Market Analyst.\"\r\n                        Disease progressing.\r\n \r\n                        1926 - On Wall Street full time.\r\n                        Disease progressing.\r\n \r\n                        Late 1928 - Early 1929 - Bill \r\n                        crosses \"invisible line\" in\r\n                        his drinking.\r\nOct. 1929 - Stock\r\nMarket collapse.\r\n                        Nov. 1929 - Bill goes to Canada\r\n                        for a job with Dick Johnson.\r\n \r\n                        1930 - 31 - Back in Brooklyn and\r\n                        Wall Street.  Living with Lois's\r\n                        family - unemployed. Disease\r\n                        progressing.\r\n \r\n                        Spring 1932 - Bill's business   1931 - Rowland Hazzard\r\n                        deal in New Jersey - drank      sees Dr. Carl Jung\r\n                        Apple Jack and drunk three      in Zurich, Switzerland.\r\n                        days.  Contract cancelled.      Told no medical or \r\nAt Towns Hospital, Bill                                 psychological hope for\r\nmeets Dr. William                                       an alcoholic of his\r\nSilkworth on second                                     type; told the only\r\nadmission.  \"The Little                                 hope was a spiritual or\r\nDoctor Who Loved        1930-34 - Bill in \"An Alcoholic religious experience\r\nDrunks.\"                Hell\".  1933-34 - Bill in Towns or conversion.  This\r\n                        Hospital four times.            considered \"the first\r\n                                                        in the chain of events \r\nDec. 5, 1933-                                           that led to the\r\nProhibition ended.                                      founding of A.A.\"\r\n                        Bill resumes drinking after\r\n                        each admission.  Disease\r\n                        progressing.\r\n \r\nDr. Silkworth           Summer 1934                     Rowland Hazzard\r\npronounces Bill a...    \"HOPELESS DRUNK\"                return to America and\r\n                                                        becomes involved in\r\n                                                        Oxford Group.\r\n1934 - Emmett Fox\r\npublishes The Sermon\r\nOn The Mount.\r\n                        Nov. 1924 - Ebby T. carries     Aug. 1924 - Rowland\r\n                        message to Bill at home.        Hazzard and Cebra\r\n                        Tells his story. \"One           persuade court to\r\n                        Alcoholic Talking To Another.\"  court to parole Ebby\r\n                                                        Thatcher in their\r\n                        Bill starts attending Oxford    custody.  Ebby sobers\r\n                        Group at Calvary Church,        up at Oxford Group at \r\n                        Bowery Mission.                 Calvary Episcopal \r\n                                                        Mission, Sam Shoemaker.\r\n                        Bill drinks again - Back to\r\n                        Towns Hospital.\r\n \r\n                        Dec. 1934 - Bill has \"Hot\r\n                        Flash\" spiritual experience\r\n                        at Towns Hospital.  NEVER \r\n                        DRANK AGAIN.\r\nDr. Silkworth assured\r\nBill he was not crazy;\r\nrather a \"psychic                                       The next day Ebby\r\nupheaval\" or \"conversion                                brought Bill a copy\r\nexperience.\"                                            of William James'\r\n                                                        Varieties of Religious\r\n                                                        Experience.\r\n                        Bill reads Varieties of Religious\r\n                        Experience, an explanation of \r\n                        need for Pain, Suffering, Calamity\r\n                        and \"Deflation in Depth\" and the\r\n                        \"Simultaneous Transmission of \r\n                        Hope.\"  The two \"Halves\" are\r\n                        joined into a \"Whole.\"\r\n \r\n                        Bill returns to Oxford Group and \r\n                        works with other alcoholics, also at \r\n                        Sam Shoemaker's Calvary Mission and\r\n                        at Towns Hospital, emphasizing his\r\n                        \"Hot Flash\" spiritual experience.  \r\n                        He noted they \"seemed to do better\"\r\n                        talking of their common problems,\r\n                        but no success in sobering up others.\r\n                                                        Bill develops belief\r\n                                                        that alcoholics are\r\n                                                        resistant to the \r\n                                                        \"Four Absolutes\" of\r\n                                                        the Oxford Group.\r\n                        1935 - Bill, still sober, but no\r\n                        success yet in helping others. Still\r\n                        frequents Wall Street. Went to Akron\r\n                        Ohio for proxy fight.  Lost proxy\r\n                        fight.  Bill at Mayflower Hotel.\r\n                        Very discouraged and afraid he might\r\n                        drink.\r\n                        May 11, 1935 - Bill reached reali-\r\n Rev. Walter Tunks      zation of: I need another alcoholic.\r\n        .               \"He starts making telephone calls.\r\n                        *The final founding moment\r\nReferred to Norman       of A.A.*\r\nSheppard\r\n                        May 12, 1935 @5:00 P.M. - Bill  Robert Holbrook\r\nReferred to Henrietta   meets Dr. Bob.  Bob still       Smith.  Born August\r\nSeiberling, an Oxford   drinking.  Bill tells Bob of    8, 1879 in St.\r\nGroup adherent.  She    his experiences with alcohol    Johnsbury, VT.\r\narranged a meeting the  the hopes, promises, failures   Dartmouth College, Pre-\r\nnext afternoon at the   told of the obsession, compul-  Med at University of\r\nSeiberling Estate with  sion, and physical allergy;     Michigan.  M.D. at\r\nDr. Bob Smith.          told him of Ebby's visit and    Rush Medical College,\r\n                        simple message, \"show me your   Chicago, IL.  Intern\r\n                        faith and by my works I will    at City Hospital, \r\n                        show you mine.\"                 Akron, OH.  Procto-\r\n                                                        logist.  His wife,\r\n                                                        Anne was a friend of\r\n                                                        Henrietta Seiberling.\r\n                                                        They brought Dr. Bob\r\n                                                        to Oxford Group meet-\r\n                                                        ings for 2-1\/2 yrs.\r\n                        Dr. Bob understood with sudden  and he continued to \r\nBill had presented Dr.  clarity - the difference with   get drunk regularly.\r\nBob four aspects of one the Oxford Group.  \"The spirit- \r\ncore idea:              ual approach was as useless as\r\n(1) Utter Hopelessness  any other if you soaked it up like\r\n(2) Totally Deflated    a sponge and kept it to yourself.\"\r\n(3) Requiring Conversion The purpose of life was not to \r\n(4) Needing Others      \"get\" , it was to \"give.\"\r\n \r\n                                  June 10, 1935                             \r\n                              Dr. Bob has last drink    \r\n                              _______________________\r\n                                  ALCOHOLICS\r\n                                   ANONYMOUS\r\n                                     FOUNDED\r\n                              ------------------------\r\n \r\n                        June 11, 1935 - Dr. Bob\r\n                        suggests they both start\r\n                        working with other alcoholics.\r\n \r\n                        June 28, 1935 - Bill and Dr.\r\n                        Bob confront Bill Dotson, \r\n                        first \"Man on the Bed.\"  \r\n                        Bill D. was a prominent\r\n                        attorney in Akron.  The 3rd\r\n                        A.A. Note:  Bill D. had a\r\n                        spiritual experience without\r\n                        familiarity with Oxford \r\n                        Group principals.\r\n \r\nHenrietta Seiberling    Summer, 1935 - Bill stayed in        \r\nsupplied them with      in Akron.  He and Dr. Bob worked\r\n\"Infusion of Spirit-    with alcoholics and attended weekly\r\nuality\" mainly through  Oxford Group meetings and received\r\nPaul to Corinthians on  spiritual nourishment.\r\n\"Love\" and James on \r\n\"Works\" if faith is to\r\nhave meaning,           Fall & Winter 1935 - Back in \r\n                        New York on Clinton St.  Hank P. \r\n                        and Fitz M. got sober.\r\n \r\n                        Mid 1936 - a small but solid    Bill's efforts with\r\n                        group developing at Clinton     alcoholics receiving\r\n                        St. in New York.                criticism from \r\n                                                        Oxford Group.\r\n \r\n                        Charles Towns offers Bill a\r\n                        job at Towns Hospital.  Bill\r\n                        wanted it.  The question\r\n                        presented to the Group and\r\n                        rejected because - what they\r\n                        had, the \"thing\" that bound\r\n                        them together and those \r\n                        feelings could not be bought\r\n                        and paid for.  The only \r\n                        authority was the Group\r\n                        Conscience and all decisions\r\n                        were to be made by the\r\n                        Group.                          1937 - Beginning of\r\n                                                        the split from the\r\n                                                        Oxford Group.\r\n                        Residents at Clinton St.\r\n                                Ebby T.\r\n                                Oscar V.\r\n                                Russell R.\r\n                                Bill C.\r\n                                Florence R.\r\n \r\n                        Nov. 1937 - Bill and Dr. Bob\r\n                        meet in Akron and compare \r\n                        notes.  Forty cases sober and\r\n                        staying sober.  More than\r\n                        twenty sober for more than\r\n                        one year.  All had been\r\n                        diagnosed as HOPELESS.\r\n \r\n                                        +\r\n \r\n                        A meeting of the Akron\r\n                        Group to consider Bill's ideas\r\n                        for a book, pamphlets and\r\n                        how to expand the movement.\r\n                        Presented but only narrowly\r\n                        passed by a majority of 2.\r\nFeb. 1938 - Rockefeller\r\ngives $5,000 and saves\r\nA.A. from professionalism.\r\n                        May 1938 - The Alcoholic\r\n                        Foundation established as a\r\n                        trusteeship for A.A.\r\n \r\n                        May 1938 - Beginning of the\r\n                        writing of the book\r\n                        Alcoholics Anonymous.\r\n \r\n                        Dec. 1938 - Twelve Steps\r\n                        written.\r\n \r\n                        1939 - Membership reaches\r\n                        100.\r\n \r\n                        April 1939 - The book\r\n                        Alcoholics Anonymous\r\n                        published.\r\n \r\n                        Summer 1939 - Withdrawal\r\n                        from association with Oxford\r\n1940 - Bill meets       Group complete.  Oxford\r\nFather Ed Dowling who   Group renamed \"Moral\r\nbecomes his \"spiritual  Re-Armament.\"\r\nadvisor.\"                                               \"Rule No. 62.\"\r\n \r\nMarch 1941 - Jack Alex- Feb. 1940 - First World Service January 1944 - Dr.\r\nander's Saturday Even-  Office for A.A.                 Harry Tiebout's first\r\ning Post article                                        paper on the subject\r\npublished and member-   June 1944 - The A.A.            of \"alcoholics\r\nship jumped from 2000   Grapevine established.          anonymous\"\r\n \r\nThe Washingtonians in   1946 - The Twelve Traditions\r\nthe 1840's failed, due  of A.A. formulated and          \r\nprincipally to failure  published.\r\nto adhere to \"Single-   \r\nness of Purpose,\" and   June 1, 1949 - Anne Ripley\r\nthis failure influenced Smith died.\r\nthe development of the\r\nA.A. Traditions.\r\n                        July 1959 - First international\r\n                        convention of A.A. at Cleveland,\r\n                        Ohio.  Twelve Traditions\r\n                        adopted.\r\n \r\n                        Nov. 16, 1950 - Dr. Robert\r\n                        Holbrook Smith, co-founder\r\n                        of Alcoholics Anonymous died.\r\n \r\n                        June 1953 - The book Twelve\r\n                        Steps and Twelve Traditions\r\n                        published.\r\n \r\n                        Oct. 1954 - The \"Alcoholic\r\n                        Foundation\" becomes the \r\n                        \"General Service Board of\r\n                        A.A.\"\r\n \r\n                        July 1955 - 20th Anniversary\r\n                        Convention at St. Louis, MO\r\n                        Second edition of Alcoholics\r\n                        Anonymous published.  The three\r\n                        legacies of Recovery, Unity\r\n                        and Service turned over to the\r\n                        movement by its oldtimers.\r\n \r\n                        1957 - Creation of first overseas\r\n                        General Service Board of A.A.\r\n                        in Great Britain and Ireland.\r\n                        A.A. Comes of Age published in\r\n                        October.  Membership reaches\r\n                        over 200,000 in 7,000 groups in\r\n                        70 countries and U.S. possessions.\r\n \r\n                        1959 - A.A. Publishing, Inc. became\r\n                        A.A. World Services, Inc.\r\n \r\n                        July 1960 - 25th Anniversary Convention\r\n                        at Long Beach, CA\r\n \r\n                        1962 - Publication of Twelve Concepts\r\n                        for World Service written by Bill W.\r\n \r\n                        July 1965 - 30th Anniversary Convention\r\n                        at Toronto, Canada.  Keynote adopted,\r\n                        \"I Am Responsible.\"\r\n \r\n                        1966 - Change in ratio of trustees\r\n                        of the General Service Board; now\r\n                        two-thirds majority of alcoholic\r\n                        members; the A.A. fellowship accepts\r\n                        \u00fctop responsibility for all it's\r\n                        future affairs.\r\n \r\n                        1967 - Publication of the book The A.A.\r\n                        Way of Life now titled As Bill Sees It.\r\n \r\n                        Oct. 9-11, 1969 - 1st World Service\r\n                        meeting held in New York with delegates\r\n                        from 14 countries.\r\n \r\n                        1970 - 35th Anniversary International\r\n                        Convention at Miami Beach, Florida.\r\n                        Keynote: \"This we owe to AA's of the\r\n                        future.  To place our common welfare\r\n                        first; To keep our fellowship united.\r\n                        For on A.A. Unity depend our lives, and\r\n                        the lives of those to come.\"  Bill's\r\n                        last public appearance.\r\n \r\n                        Jan. 24, 1971 - William Griffith Wilson,\r\n                        co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, dies\r\n                        at Miami Beach, FL.\r\n \r\n                        Oct. 5-7, 1972 - 2nd World Service meeting\r\n                        held in New York.\r\n \r\n                        1973 - Publication of Came to Believe.\r\n \r\n                        April 1973 - Distribution of the book\r\n                        Alcoholics Anonymous reached one\r\n                        million mark.\r\n \r\n                        1975 - Publication of Living Sober.\r\n \r\n                        1976 - Publication of 3rd Edition of\r\n                        Alcoholics Anonymous.\r\n \r\n                        October 5, 1988 - Lois Burnam Wilson died.\r\n \r\n \r\n                        ==========================\r\nSources:   Bill W. by Robert Thompsen\r\n           Not God. A History of Alcoholics Anonymous by Ernest Kurtz\r\n           Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, A.A. World Services, Inc.\r\n           Pass It On - Bill Wilson and the A.A. Message, A.A. World Services\r\n           The Language of the Heart, The A.A. Grapevine\r\n           Dr. Bob and the Good Old-Timers, A.A. World Services, Inc.\r\n           On The Tail of a Comet, The Life of Frank Buchman by Garth Lean\r\n           The Washingtonian Movement, by Milton A. Maxwell, Ph.D.\r\n           A.A. The Way It Began, by Bill Pittman\r\n \r\n<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I recently came across the following article below…\u00a0 It’s very easy to spend hours on the Internet these days digging up tons of historical references regarding Alcoholics Anonymous.\u00a0 My mission today is start logging chronologically the events in Sexaholics Anonymous history (e.g. Wiki) Flowchart of Events of Interest to Members Of The Fellowship of Alcoholics … Continue reading AA History Flowchart<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":2824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1421"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2823,"href":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421\/revisions\/2823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/saphonemeeting.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}