Biography of Bill Wilson
Co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous Alcohol has been abused and been problematic in the history of the world. Before Alcoholics Anonymous it was believed that alcoholism and addiction was a mental illness and failure of willpower (Cheever 253). There was never any real hope for alcoholics till Bill Wilson discovered that one alcoholic simply talking to another alcoholic could help them both stay sober. This soon became a self help program that now has over a hundred thousand groups and over two million members worldwide. Bill Wilson’s program became what we know today as Alcoholics Anonymous or simply A.A.. Bill Wilson wrote the book, Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered From Alcoholism, and co-founded the 12 step program with Dr. Bob Smith. In 1999 Time Magazine listed him as “Bill W.: The Healer” in the Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century (Time Magazine 153). Bill Griffith Wilson was born November 26th, 1895 in East Dorset Vermont, to Gilman and Emily Wilson. He was born the night before Thanksgiving behind the bar at his parents home and business Mount Aeolus Inn and Tavern. He had a sister, Dorothy Wilson who was four years younger than him. In the spring of 1906 his mother took both children on a picnic to Emerald Lake in Vermont to tell them that their father was not coming home from a business trip and that they were going to get divorced. After the divorce Emily Wilson left her children to be raised by her parents, Fayette and Ella Griffith, while she went to study at the Boston College of Osteopathy to better herself and eventually become a doctor. This had a great impact on Bill and he later wrote to his mother that “this certainly did something to me that left a very deep mark” (Cheever 22-24).
Bill needed a lot of intellectual stimulation during his childhood. He taught himself to play the violin and liked to read. Bill went to Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester Vermont and did very well. By his senior year he was class president and captain of the football team (Cheever 50-51).
Bill suffered from serious depression several times in his life. One of the those times was when his first love Bertha Bamford died due to complications from surgery when he was only seventeen years old. Bertha was a beautiful, brainy classmate and daughter of an Episcopal Minister. Her family really liked Bill. They seemed to be soulmates, and when she died it devastated him (Raphael 29).
About a year later Bill met Lois Burnham in the summer of 1913 at Emerald Lake where her family spent the summer. Lois was a beautiful, well educated daughter of a wealthy New York physician. Lois was four years older than Bill and they did not start dating till a few years after they met. They eventually fell deeply in love and were engaged two years later (Raphael 36-37).
Bill graduated High School and attended Norwich University, a military academy, not far from home. Norwich prepared him well for World War I. He left before graduation to join Coast Artillery in 1917 where he advanced through training and was commissioned as second lieutenant. Shortly before Bill left for duty overseas, he married Lois in the Swedenborgen Church in Brooklyn Heights New York on January 24th, 1918.(Cheever 80-81)
Bills first drink, was in 1917 while stationed in New Bedford Massachusetts. Many of the locals opened their houses to the young officers who were soon going to fight abroad. One Sunday he went to a dinner party with his commanding officer. There were wealthy and sophisticated women who were drinking and smoking. Bill always said he would not drink but at the dinner table there was beer at every place setting, and Bill felt that the polite thing to do was to drink the beer. The drink seemed harmless and didn’t lead to anything bad. A few weeks later he went to yet another dinner party, and thought the previous beer caused no harm so he drank again. This time it wasn’t beer; it was a Bronx cocktail that someone placed in his hand. Unlike the beer, the Bronx cocktail tasted good to Bill, and he drank it down rather fast. Then he had a second one, and after that he felt as if he now fit in with the high society crowd around him. He laughed and relaxed and told stories, and everyone laughed with him. Bill later wrote “I had found the elixir of life” (Cheever 73-75).
Nobody really noticed Bill’s drinking; he just seemed like a happy man. He would take a drink or few whenever they were offered. After being married, Bill and Lois took an apartment in New Bedford. They had dinner parties where cocktails were served and they went out often. Bill always drank. He was the life of the party and often passed out from too much alcohol. Lois always acted as if everything was wonderful even if it wasn’t (Cheever 82-83). The following spring Bill was shipped out to Great Britain where he continued drinking.
Bill returned from World War I to New York and to his wife Lois. Soon after his return, on January 17th, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment became law and drinking became illegal. Bill found creative ways around the law. He became a regular at the local speakeasies. He would buy grapes to make wine, but often drank it before it was done because he just couldn’t wait. He failed to graduate from law school because he was too drunk to pick up his diploma (Cheever 91). They tried to start a family, but by May of 1923, Lois had her third ectopic miscarriage. This ended their hopes of having children. During these miscarriages Bill did not make it to the hospital for visits because he was too drunk (Cheever 93).
The pattern of Lois’s suffering and Bill’s remorse continued. On Christmas Bill wrote on the family Bible, “for your Christmas I make you this present: No liquor will pass my lips for one year.” This was a promise he would not keep. He made this promise many more times over the next ten years. When Bill didn’t keep his promise, Lois would leave their apartment and move back to her parents house. She would leave him a letter saying she would come back home if he could stay sober for two weeks. Lois was consumed with thoughts of guilt, sorrow, and waves of love which is typical of living life with an alcoholic. Bill would write her letters apologizing and begging her to come back. Eventually they would always reconcile (Cheever 94-95).
During times when Bill was sober he spent all his time and energy observing the stock market. He decided to work on Wall Street. He had the idea of market research before there was such a thing as market research. In 1925 they gave up their apartment and bought a Harley Davidson with a sidecar and a tent and traveled the east coast. He would evaluate companies for potential investors and had much success doing this. When he traveled he seemed to stay sober but once he was back in New York, his drinking was again out of control (Cheever 98-101).
When the stock market crashed in 1929, he went from being a very successful stock speculator to being $60,000 in debt with no cash on hand. They had to move in with Lois’s parents. During this time his drinking was at its worst. In 1932 Bill was able to make his way back onto Wall Street, but his drinking eventually ruined his reputation, and he was unable to find work (Cheever 108-109). It was now 1933 and Prohibition was repealed which only meant Bill switched from speakeasies to bars. Bill became very angry blaming everyone else for his problems. He became violent, kicking things and once threw a sewing machine at Lois. He would steal money out of Lois’s purse. He also ended up in jail. His life had become hopeless, and he often thought of throwing himself out the window (Cheever 110-111).
Eventually in 1933 Bill was committed to the Charles B. Towns Hospital for Drug and Alcohol Addictions in New York City under the care of Dr. William D. Silkworth. Dr. Silkworth believed that alcoholism was an allergy and an obsession of the mind, not a moral problem. This gave Bill some hope but he still couldn’t stay sober (Cheever 114-115). He would eventually end up in Towns Hospital a total of four times. He was told that he was going to die from alcoholism or be permanently institutionalized.
In November 1934, Bill was visited by an old drinking buddy, Ebby Thatcher, who was also an alcoholic. This has become a famous part of Bill’s story. Ebby told Bill that he was miraculously sober through his involvement with the Oxford Group. Bill and Lois heard many testimonials from people whose lives had been changed through practicing the Oxford Groups tenets. These tenets were the four absolutes of purity, honesty, unselfishness, and love. The Oxford Group made a point of never interfering with one’s religion. There were Oxford Groups of alcoholics that were staying sober through the help of the non-alcoholic members (Cheever 128).
Only a month after the visit with Ebby, Bill entered the Towns Hospital for the fourth and final time. He had reached an absolute bottom. During this time at the hospital something amazing happened. He didn’t believe in God, but yet he found himself begging God for help. He shouted, “If there be a God let him show himself!” Bill later wrote, “Suddenly my room blazed with an indescribable white light. I was seized with an ecstasy beyond description. Every joy I had known was pale by comparison.” He continued describing his experience. “Then, seen in the mind’s eye there was a mountain. I stood upon a summit where a great wind blew. A wind, not of air but of spirit. In great, clean strength it blew right through me. Then came the blazing thought, ‘you are a free man.’” Bill told Dr. Silkworth later that afternoon that he thought he had lost his mind. He thought he heard the voice of God. Dr. Silkworth told Bill he had heard of these sudden epiphanies. It appeared that Bill had had a real conversion. Bill believed that he had a spiritual experience and after letting go and surrendering, he would never have another drink for the rest of his life (Cheever 118-119).
Bill became very involved with the Oxford Group. He was most interested in the alcoholic members. The non-alcoholic members had become frustrated with the alcoholics who didn’t stay sober. The alcoholic members turned to Bill. He would preach his new belief of surrender and recovery. He formed groups of alcoholics and would apply the techniques he had learned from the Oxford Group. He was on a mission to help other alcoholics stay sober. He realized that they needed compassion not rules and regulations. They all had their own story and their own road to sobriety. This became one of the main principles of A.A. and why it has survived while other groups have not. Bill was so grateful and so excited he was sober, that he failed to realize that what he was doing wasn’t working. Drunks were still staying drunk. When Bill told Dr. Silkworth about his frustration, the doctor suggested that Bill stop preaching and instead talk about the disease of alcoholism (Cheever 130-131).
After being sober for five months Bill had heard of an opportunity to bid for control of a company in Akron, Ohio. He boarded a train with some other businessmen and stayed at the Mayflower Hotel in Akron. He thought this might be his comeback now that he was sober; but the deal fell through, and the men went home except for Bill. Feeling like he was a failure, he badly wanted a drink. Down the hall at the Mayflower Hotel was a bar where he almost drank again (Cheever 133). He struggled with the urge to drink but close to the bar was a public phone booth. He made several phone calls desperately trying to find someone like himself to talk to - another alcoholic. Not being familiar with anyone in Akron, he was eventually connected with Dr. Robert H. Smith, an Akron surgeon and alcoholic. The doctor only agreed to meet with Bill to please his wife Anne. Dr. Bob, as he later became to be known, was told that a man claimed he had a cure for alcoholism. Dr. Bob only intended to meet with this man for 15 minutes. This man was Bill Wilson. Bill and the doctor went in a room to talk, and they did not finish talking till five hours later (Cheever 135-137).
Bill stayed in Ohio for another 3 months working with Dr. Bob to try and help other alcoholics get sober. Unfortunately after coming home from a medical conference, Dr. Bob began to drink again. Soon after his relapse, Dr. Bob did quit drinking forever on June 10th 1935. This was his official sobriety date. June 10, 1935, became the founding date of A.A. because it was the first day that both Dr. Bob and Bill were sober (Raphael 164).
After that summer in Akron, Bill returned to New York and started having success working with local drunks in his area. By 1938 about 100 drunks from Akron and New York had managed to stay sober. So the fellowship decided to promote its program of recovery by publishing a book. Bill Wilson was the primary author, and the book was given the title Alcoholics Anonymous. It included the list of suggested activities for spiritual growth known as the Twelve Steps. Later Bill also wrote the Twelve Traditions, a set of spiritual guidelines to ensure the survival of individual AA groups (Cheever 146-148). He spent most of his energy on creating one of the greatest social organizations ever known.
In October, 1943, Bill and Lois took a cross country trip to visit A.A. groups. They went from city to city and group to group. During this time Bill suffered from depression but was able to still be very productive. Bill would speak at meetings while Lois would meet with families of alcoholics. The meetings that Lois had with the families eventually evolved to become known as Al-Anon. They continued speaking at meetings and traveling throughout their lives (Cheever 171).
By 1955 Bill was a handsome man who had a talent for telling a good story and was an excellent public speaker. He had a home and enough money to live comfortably. The AA general service conference of 1955 was a landmark event for Bill Wilson in which he turned over the leadership of the maturing organization to an elected board (Cheever 215).
During the last years of his life, Wilson rarely attended AA meetings to avoid being asked to speak as the co-founder rather than as an alcoholic. A heavy smoker, Wilson eventually suffered from emphysema and later pneumonia . He continued to smoke while dependent on an oxygen tank in the late 1960s. He drank no alcohol for the final 37 years of his life. However, in the last days of his life he made demands for whiskey and became belligerent when refused. During this period, Wilson was visited by colleagues and friends who wanted to say goodbye. On his way to Miami, Florida for treatment, Bill Wilson died of emphysema and pneumonia on January 24, 1971. This was his and Lois’ wedding anniversary. They were married 53 years. He was buried in East Dorset, Vermont. During the years between his first drink and his last drink, Bill Wilson went through an entire alcoholic career. Starting from his first euphoric drinking experience to the last desperate beers, alcohol had enormous power over him. Most alcoholics can’t stop ever and they die from alcohol-related accidents and diseases. Bill Wilson was an intelligent man, and he was a man with a great deal of personal experience with alcohol and it’s path of destruction (Cheever 119). Today his spirit survives in the hundreds of thousands of Alcoholics Anonymous meeting rooms across the world. At these meetings his words are read out loud everyday in virtually every language (Cheever 157). In conclusion, the events of Bill’s life that led to the creation of A.A. has made a huge impact on the lives of alcoholics trying to get sober and for future generations of alcoholics to come. Many lives have been saved because of the creation of Alcoholics Anonymous. The book of Alcoholics Anonymous has sold over 30 million copies and is one of the best selling books of all time. In 2011 it was on Time magazine’s list of the 100 best and most influential books since 1923, the beginning of the magazine. In 2012 the Library of Congress listed it as one of 88 books “That Shaped America”. “My Name is Bill W.” was a 1989 CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie starring James Woods as Bill W. and James Garner as Dr. Bob.
The twelve steps that Bill helped create have become a major part of the program. These steps have become the core of other self help groups as well. These groups help people recover from other addictions such as, drugs, sex, gambling, food, shopping and so one. One alcoholic working with another alcoholic, one addict working with another, this is what Bill discovered would help people stay sober. People from all different walks of life, rich, poor, doctors, lawyers, teachers, the young, and the old, gather in meetings where they can remain anonymous and share their experience, strength, and hope to reach a common goal to stay sober. This program has changed the way alcohol affects the world. In the history of the United States alcohol has always played a part in many important events. It has had negative effects on people and their families. Today thanks to Bill Griffith Wilson there is hope.
I know this program works because I, like many millions of other people, have been able to stay sober through participating in Alcoholics Anonymous. I no longer have to live a life of misery, and emptiness. I honestly believe alcoholism would have killed me. Today I have an incredible life that is full of happiness and peace. Bill Wilson is a hero to me and to many other people in the world! Unfortunately not everyone will be able to stay sober due to the power of alcohol. A.A. is a lifelong program and continued participation is very important. As they say at the end of each meeting, “Keep coming back. It works if you work it”.

In 2015 the United States Postal Service will Honor Bill Wilson with a First Class Stamp

Bill and Lois Wilson Bill Griffith Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith

Works Cited

Books That Shaped America - Library of Congress." 2012. 11 Apr. 2014