Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: 

Bill W. and Dr. Bob S.

A seemingly unplanned meeting in Akron, Ohio in 1935 between two men, both of whom were termed "hopeless" alcoholics, began a program of recovery that has helped millions find sobriety and serenity.

Bill W. was one of those men. In fighting his own battle against drinking, he had already learned that helping other alcoholics was the key to maintaining his own sobriety, the principle that would later become step twelve in the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

 A stockbroker from New York, Bill W. had traveled to Akron, Ohio on May 12, 1935 for a shareholders' meeting and proxy fight, which did not turn out his way. Fighting desperately to maintain his sobriety, his immediate reaction was, "I've got to find another alcoholic."

A few inquiries lead him to a meeting with an Akron surgeon, forever to be remembered simply as "Dr. Bob," who had struggled for years with his own drinking problem.  Bill got sober through a set of principles that, he felt, had saved his life (ideas that later evolved into the Twelve Steps of AA). He shared those principles with Bob, and he too put down the bottle (June 10, 1935), never to pick it up again.  Dr. Bob's "dry date" is officially counted as AA's founding. The bond formed between the two men would grow into a movement that would literally affect the lives of millions.

Starting in an upstairs room at Dr. Bob's home at 855 Ardmore Avenue, in Akron, the two men began helping alcoholics one person at a time.  It took four years to get the first 100 alcoholics sober in the first three groups that formed in Akron, New York, and Cleveland. But after the publication in 1939 of the group's "text book" Alcoholics Anonymous, and the publication of a series of articles about the group in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the development of A.A. was rapid. Membership in the Cleveland group soon grew to 500.

 The response was so overwhelming, the group found itself sending out members, who had only a short time in the program themselves, to work with other new members. This was a key point in the development of A.A. For the first time, the founders learned that recovery was something that could be "mass produced" and was not limited to the ground that they themselves could cover.

 After a dinner in New York in 1940, given by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., to publicize the group, membership soon grew to 2,000. An article in the Saturday Evening Post in 1941 resulted in another growth period and membership in the United States and Canada rose to 6,000.  By 1951, Alcoholics Anonymous had helped more than 100,000 people recover from alcoholism and by 1973 more than one million copies of The Big Book had been distributed. Since that time the fellowship has continued to grow and has become worldwide. Today, AA lists its membership at 2,160,013, with 100,766 groups in Africa, Asia, and Europe as well as North and South America. A number for Alcoholics Anonymous can be found in the white pages of virtually every local telephone directory.

AA members describe their program as spiritual not religious. No creed or ritual is required, and from the beginning AA has welcomed atheists and agnostics. At the same time, members seek daily guidance from a Higher Power. That term is defined individually. For some members, it is God or a church. Other members find their Higher Power in a friend, in nature, in the book Alcoholics Anonymous, in their AA group or any other source of outside help.

Dr. Bob died Nov. 16, 1950, and Bill W. passed away on Jan. 24, 1971, but the legacy they left behind continues to touch the lives of millions.

To find an AA meeting near you, look in your local Yellow Pages phone book under "Alcoholics Anonymous" or contact AA World Services at P.O. Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163, (212) 870-3400, or at AA's web site at www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.