Bill Wilson

William Griffith Wilson was born around November 26, 1895. His early life was marked by challenges, including a difficult birth and his parents' divorce when he was eleven. He married Lois Burnham on January 24, 1918. Wilson served in the U.S. Armed Forces, where he had his first drink in 1917, experiencing a dissolution of his inherent insecurity. After his military service, he became a successful securities analyst in Brooklyn, New York, from 1919 to 1925. However, his professional achievements were increasingly overshadowed by a severe drinking problem, leading to his first hospitalization for alcoholism in 1933. Wilson had his last drink in December 1934, marking a turning point in his life. Inspired by his own recovery, he began to envision a way to help others struggling with alcoholism. In May 1935, he met Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith, and together they laid the groundwork for what would become Alcoholics Anonymous. The New York alcoholics, including Wilson, separated from the Oxford Group in 1937, and The Alcoholic Foundation was legally established in 1938. Wilson authored foundational texts for the fellowship, including "Alcoholics Anonymous" (1939) and "The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions" (1953). He died on January 24, 1971.