10 June 1935: Alcoholics Anonymous Founded

On June 10, 1935, in Akron, Ohio, Bill Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith held the meeting that would mark the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous, one of the most influential self-help movements in history. Their conversation that day, and the program they developed together, would eventually help millions of people around the world overcome addiction to alcohol.

Wilson, a New York stockbroker, had struggled with alcoholism for years before achieving sobriety in late 1934 through a spiritual experience and the support of a Christian fellowship group called the Oxford Group. Convinced that alcoholics could best help each other stay sober, Wilson began seeking out other alcoholics to share his experience with, believing that doing so would help him maintain his own sobriety.

In May 1935, a business trip brought Wilson to Akron, where a failed deal left him stranded and tempted to drink. Searching for another alcoholic to talk to, he was eventually connected with Dr. Bob Smith, a physician whose drinking had brought him to the brink of professional ruin. Their first conversation lasted for hours, and Smith achieved his last drink on June 10, 1935 – the date now recognized as the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The two men began working with other alcoholics in Akron, developing the principles that would become the cornerstone of AA. In 1939, they published Alcoholics Anonymous, the book that gave the fellowship its name and introduced the Twelve Steps, a set of guiding principles that outline a course of action for recovery from addiction.

The Twelve Steps emphasized admitting powerlessness over alcohol, seeking help from a higher power, taking moral inventory, making amends to those harmed by ones drinking, and helping other alcoholics achieve sobriety. This peer-support model, in which recovering alcoholics help each other maintain sobriety, proved remarkably effective.

From those early meetings in Akron, Alcoholics Anonymous grew into a worldwide organization with an estimated two million members in over 180 countries. The Twelve Step model has been adapted for countless other addictions and compulsive behaviors. The legacy of Bill W. and Dr. Bob, as they came to be known, extends far beyond alcohol addiction, offering hope and a pathway to recovery for those struggling with dependency of all kinds.