---

---

Barb - Wilson's spent night with her & Cy (P 214)

Barbara Wilson -Lois's sister, maid honor wedding; worked Baylis & Co. introduced Bill there (B 111, 137)

Barefoot Rose -Bill's next door neighbor East Dorset as child living grandparents, Bill Landon husband, town's librarian, responsible Bill reading great deal, had influence Bill's boyhood (B 26-27, 42)

Barney B. -early Los Angeles A.A. helped by Johnny Howe & Kaye M. (A 92)

Barry L. -joined Manhattan Group 1945; doing desk duty clubhouse 41st Street, black man, ex-convict, all belongings on back, hair bleached blond, wearing makeup, dope fiend; asked Bill what do, no other blacks in A.A., Bill said if he a drunk that all mattered; anonymous author Living Sober (N 352) (P 317-318)

Ben - early Sydney A.A. late 1944 (A 86)

Bern - possible husband Evelyn H. who Bill wrote about slips (P 252, 254)

Bern - nickname Bernard Smith (G 96)

Bernard B. Smith -nickname Bern; international lawyer; nonalcoholic; chairman Alcoholic Foundation; trustee 1944-1956; chairman General Service Board 1951-1956; architect General Service Conference, convinced trustees change ratio more alcoholics on board then not; chaired, spoke 2nd Intentional Convention St. Louis 1955, Kiel Auditorium, A.A. became of age; only trustee supported conference idea, worked with Bill more anybody bring about General Service Board permanent successor to founders, brought majority trustees accept conference idea trial basis; helped Bill put together General Service Conference structure [architect conference]; due Bill's illness called New York 1970 Miami Beach International Convention deliver main speech; responsible 1957 new bylaws; died heart attack 1970 (A xii, 4, 47, 126, 186, 208, 212, 223, 256, 273-275, 281) (B 353) (E 19, 72) (G 96-98, 106) (H 380) (SM 17, 42, 106) (N 130, 251, 259) (P 328, 344-345, 358, 401)

Bert C. -1 of 2 successes Paddy K. Boston group founder (A 96)

Bert T. -early New York A.A.; held meetings elegant 5th Avenue tailor shop after Wilson's lost home April 26 1939, suggested his tailoring loft West Side more practical gatherings; put business collateral borrow $1000 keep A.A. afloat; with Horace C. discovered & guaranteed rent 1st A.A. clubhouse 24th Street Clubhouse February 1940; trustees early 1940's sent Chicago & Cleveland to sound out groups & get support groups supporting A.A. headquarters; early Board member; after Saturday Evening Post article went out to A.A. groups get contributions office expenses (A 11-12, 177, 180, 186, 192) (B 290, 319) (H 62, 64-65, 339) (L 116, 127, 172, 198) (P 216-217, 221, 224, 238)

Bertha Bamford -Bill's 1st love, childhood sweetheart, daughter Reverend & Mrs. W.H.Bamford, 16 years old, prettiest, brightest, most charming girl, senior class treasurer Burr & Burton; president Y.W.C.A., died 5th Avenue Hospital following surgery remove tumor internal hemorrhage November 18, 1912, age 18, started Bill 3 year depression (B 56, 61) (C 4) (N 12) (P 35-36) (W 144)

Beth B. -wife Silas B. (L 102)

Betty B. -young student nurse City Hospital, joined A.A. around 1970 (D 46)

Betty L. -worked on 12 & 12 with Bill (A 219) (P 354)

Betty Smith -Dr. Bob's son's wife, married 1944; father alcoholic sober after Betty brought him Big book 1944; goes A.A. meeting for self March 13 1979 (C 152) (D 303)

Bill A. -well-to-do early A.A. Washington bought Preferred Stock Works Publishing Inc par value $1000; joined Fitz M., long loner Washington D.C. area 1940 (A 188) (P 257)

Bill B. -MC Sunday activities 1960 International Convention Long Beach California (G 103)

Bill C. -young Canadian alkie, former attorney, compulsive gambler, stayed Bill's house nearly year, committed suicide October 1936 gas stove; before died sold Wilson's clothes (B 263, 265) (L 105) (P 165-166)

Bill Dotson -wife's name Henrietta; A.A. #3; man on the bed; hospitalized 8 times 1st 6 months 1935, 6 times & 4 months. lawyer, well-adjusted family man, former city councilman, financial director Akron suburb, attended church regularly; Sister Ignatia & Dr. Scuderi secretly treated 1934, blackened eye nurse in City Hospital, Dr. Bob & Bill went to see June 28, 1935; left hospital July 4 1934, never drank again; story 2nd edition Big Book, never submitted story 1st edition; didn't support General Service Conference idea; 1st Ohio delegate 1st A.A. General Service Conference 1951; died September 17 1954 (A 6, 19, 71) (B 243-244, 248) (D 82, 326) (E 14, 64) (H xiii, 358, 360-362) (L 97) (N 37-39, 74, 151) (P 153-154, 225, 356) (S 11, 21)

Bill E. -well-to-do early A.A. Washington bought Preferred Stock Works Publishing Inc par value $1000 (A 188)

Bill H. -alcoholic greengrocer met Canadian mining engineer Bob B. early 1947, these 2 helped active A.A. group start London (A 83)

 

Bill J. -early Akron A.A., salesman, slipped Cincinnati, stayed Oxford Group A.A. split (D 118, 218)

Bill J. -Cleveland banker [probably bank teller], received requests for help (D 204)

Bill Landon -lived next door Bill's grandparents East Dorset Vermont, Old Frank's son-in-law, fought civil war, taught Bill how shoot rifle, wife Barefoot Rose, had influence Bill's boyhood (B 24, 42) (P 52)

Bill R. -early New York A.A., 1939 Trustee; attended Tuesday night meetings Bill's with nonalcoholic wife, Kathleen (A 180) (L 102) (P 162)

Bill S. -Los Angeles A.A., wife Agnes (P 287-288)

Bill S. -early Cleveland Catholic A.A. (N 84)

Bill V. -original Akron A.A., met & treated by Sister Ignatia 1936 (S 11)

Bill V. H. -joined A.A. September 1937 (D 119)

Bill Wilson (William G. Wilson) -Bill Wilson, William Griffin Wilson, co-founder A.A.; born 3 a.m. November 26 1895 behind bar East Dorset Vermont; mother deserted age 10 left care maternal grandparents, raised Rutland Vermont, mother Boston osteopathic physician; age 8 learned Morse Code, felt 1st American made boomerang; started secondary education fall 1909 Burr & Burton Academy; experience death 1st love Bertha Banford, pall bearer Bertha Bamford childhood sweetheart, started 3 year depression; pitched baseball Equinox Manchester team; took Massachusetts Institute Technology entrance exam failed most every subject fall & winter 1913 & 1914; played fiddle & cello earn money, entered Norwich University military college 1914 age 19; sent 1st Officers Training Camp Plattsburg New York, engaged fall 1915, married Lois Burnham January 24 1918 Brooklyn; commissioned 2nd lieutenant age 21, 1st drink age 22, rarely drank socially, moderately, drank 17 years; served WWI, sailed from Boston with 66th C.A.C. 5 months left WWI, aboard Lancashire troop ship, stopped panicked soldiers going topside from compartment loud bang heard; stationed outside Winchester England 1st then France, recommended promotion didn't get it due mistake in names someone else got it, discharged May 1919; took test work Thomas Edison passed, declined work; 1st exposure Wall Street investigative work United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company 1921, pursued dreams wealth, 1 Stock Market's 1st securities analysts, market trader late 1920's; had to be number 1, grasp potential idea that seemed insignificant others, see growth opportunities apparently ordinary situations, entrepreneurs's mind & imagination, challenge stimulated, interested psychic phenomena, mysticism; articulate, power driver, tunnel visioned, absented minded, loved tease, tell stories, giving nicknames; May 1923 Lois hospital 3rd ectopic pregnancy Bill often too drunk visit; before motorcycle trip summer 1925 Bill, Ebby, brothers drank together; October 1929 stock market crash, Bill $60,000 debt; early 1930's sank deeper alcoholism; formed April 8 1932 long-term speculative syndicate him, Arthur Wheeler, Frank Winans, based on Bill not taking even 1 drink, drank Jersey Lighting applejack middle May 1932, started 1st time drink escape & block out mind what he did; Christmas 1933 vowed stay sober 1 year, lasted 2 months; 1st went Sam Shoemaker's Calvary Church mission November 1934 with Alex a Finnish buddy; 1933-1934 entered Charles B. Towns Hospital 4 times, met Dr. William D. Silkworth 1st person tell him alcoholism illness; entered Towns Hospital last time December 11 1934, 2nd night last hospitalization 1935, Ebby Thatcher visited told again Oxford Group & he not drinking; Bill 39 years old; December 13th or 14th spiritual experience read Varieties Religious Experience [William James] next day; discharged December 18; worked 6 months alcoholics, no luck; associated Oxford Group, Sam Shoemaker's Calvary Mission; attended 1st Oxford House party Richmond Virginia, went others Stockbridge Massachusetts, Pennsylvania Poconos, West Point; met Frank Buchman never became close; returned Wall Street April 1935, got involved proxy fight control small machine-tool factory Akron, May 1935 gone Akron annual stockholder meeting, Bill stranded Mayflower Hotel, called Reverend Walter Tunks name church directory hotel lobby, gave him list names, 1 Norman Sheppard, gave Bill Henrietta Seiberling's number, introduced himself Henrietta Seiberling rum hound from New York; met Dr. Bob Mother's Day May 12 1935 Henrietta Seiberling residence, sober 5 months when met Dr. Bob 1st time, lasted 6 hours; few days later moved in with Smiths; Dr. Bob called Willie; called Dr. Bob's wife mother A.A.; Dr. Bob's sponsor: 15 years younger Dr. Bob; responsible A.A.'s structural characteristics corporate poverty, lack personal authority, least organization possible carry message; avoided A.A. power & position; met Charlie Towns & associate Dr. Alexander Lambert December 1936, asked Bill work Towns Hospital; held meetings his house Tuesday evenings, usually 2 or 3 drunks staying upstairs; spring 1937 working out Hank P.'s office Newark New Jersey; December 1937 tried get John D. Rockefeller contribute money A.A., didn't get it; thought A.A. needed foundation create confidence get money, formed April 1938; started write Big Book May 1938, felt more umpire then author, dictated typist Ruth Hock; wrote chapter To Wives, asked Dr. Bob's wife, she declined; credited Sam Shoemaker giving knowledge 12 Steps; partnership Hank P. formed Works Publishing Company early 1939 publish Big Book, edited New York A.A.'s Big Book stories with Hank P.; attended & spoke John D. Rockefeller's A.A. dinner February 8 1940 with Dr. Bob; lived 1st A.A. clubhouse 334 1/2 West 24th Street; picture appeared March 1 1941 Jack Alexander Saturday Evening Post article; November 28 1943 Bill guest speaker meeting San Quentin Penitentiary; conservative Republican; read paper Medical Society State New York annual meeting 1944, again 1949 American Psychiatric Association; summer 1944 started seeing Dr. Harry Tiebout series regular sessions for self; Dr. Tiebout in papers quoted Bill called Mr. X.; tried enlist Army age 46 during WWII, not accepted; believed clairvoyance & other extrasensory manifestations; turned down 6 honorary degrees including honorary Doctor Laws degree Yale University, 1951 nominated inclusion Who's Who America refused, offered Lasker Award refused for self accepted for Fellowship; began collecting A.A. history 1954; tried LSD California August 29 1956 under guidance Gerald Heard, present & guiding Sidney Cohen psychiatrist Los Angeles Veterans Administration Hospital, Tom P. there, invited close associates try LSD, Father Dowling did, Dr. John L. Morris [Dr. Jack] didn't, Dr. Sam Shoemaker, Lois did, withdrew LSD experiments by 1959; spent 15 years stepping down from A.A.; told Joe Hirshhorn La Guardia Airport he America's #1 Drunk; early 1960's used vitamin B-3, put together 3 papers B-3 vitamin helping treat alcoholism 1st dated December 1965, letters became talismans [anything whose presence exercises remarkable powerful influence human feelings, actions]; kept Dr. Carl Jung's letter talisman only income royalties Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes Age, 12 & 12, A.A. Way Life became [As Bill Sees It], retroactive 1940 requested, no royalties foreign editions, 1963 agreement with A.A. World Services bequeath royalties Lois, she permitted bequeath royalties part estate, 80% beneficiaries reached age 40 time agreement 1963 upon death beneficiaries royalties revert A.A.; received royalties Big Book; April 1996 board unanimously accepted Advisory Actions Conference: 1)board increased 21, 7 nonalcoholic 14 alcoholic Bill's last official Fellowships business; A.A.'s 1st historian; felt remorse those bought stock his suggestion before crash, made some recompense most cases; wanted drink 3 times after sobering up, Mayflower Hotel Akron, got jealous Lois helping alcoholics at house, taking medicine high alcohol %; wrote Carl Jung 1968; wrote over 150 Grapevine articles 26 year span; fell off roof spring 1969 beginning bad health; every April spoke opening dinner Conference, 1970 started speak couldn't; gave up A.A. leadership 1962; died January 24 1971 11:30pm Miami Heart Clinic 53rd wedding anniversary, emphysema complicated bouts pneumonia; burial & memorial service May 8 1971 (A vii, ix, xi, 1, 12, 38, 52-54, 56, 58-59, 62, 64-66, 87-88, 100-101, 115, 140, 157, 164, 183-184, 191, 195, 204-205) (B 15, 72, 111, 135-137, 148-149, 180-181, 144, 233-234, 236-239, 250, 263, 274, 277, 285, 295, 304, 325, 334, 345, 364, 368, 369) (C 4-5, 8, 29, 35) (D 125) (E 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21-23, 62) (G ix, 2, 23, 54-55, 60, 62, 75-76, 79, 80, 83, 105, 121) (H xiii, 59, 62, 66, 106, 142, 144, 147-148, 156, 173, 196-199, 205, 244, 245, 279, 283-284, 298, 313, 355, 367) (L 1, 13-14, 16, 18, 20-21, 25-26, 33-34, 37, 73, 75, 80, 83, 88, 95-96, 98, 103, 107, 111, 127-128, 131, 135, 138, 157, 162, 166, 171-172, 197-198) (SM 9, 11, 13, 35) (N 7-14-21, 26-28, 32-33, 35, 38-41, 63-64, 93, 98, 119, 126, 135, 251, 135, 251, 253) (P 13, 36, 54, 59, 68, 77, 126, 139, 142-143, 162, 169, 200, 232-233, 247, 272, 275, 311, 350, 370, 371, 373, 376, 379, 385, 389, 391, 396, 398, 403, 407) (S ix, 5, 17, 18-19, 119) (W 144, 146-148, 155, 158, 160, 162, 170, 173-174, 179-180, 186)

Bill Y. -Chicago A.A. carried message with Clan F. to Pat C. Minneapolis 1940 (A 95)

Billy D. -brotherhood member, assistant superintendent Calvary Episcopal Mission 23rd Street New York, Dr. Sam Shoemaker's Calvary Church operated (P 117)

Bob - on 12 Step with Walter C., advised 12 Step brother Edith M. [his sister], advised 12 Step himself (D 257)

Bob B. -Canadian mining engineer went London early 1947 met Bill H. alcoholic greengrocer, these 2 helped active A.A. group start there (A 83)

Bob E. -wealthy banker, relied entirely Dr. Bob's wife sobriety joined A.A. February 1937, made address books, member Akron's wealthiest families (C 132) (D 101, 146) (N 53)

Bob F. -picture appeared Jack Alexander article March 1 1941 Saturday Evening Post (P 247)

Bob Feller (Robert William Andrew) -pitched no-hit baseball game Cleveland Indians May 1940 Rollie H. caught, caused lot publicity (D 251) (N 85-86)

Bob H. -early A.A.; general manager General Service Office 1968-1974; close Bill when Bill receiving Catholicism training; set in motion notification Bill's death (G 2, 125) (P 255, 321, 402)

Bob P. -G.S.O senior advisor, trustee, chief writer Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age (N 266)

Bob Smith -Dr. Bob's son born 1918 (L 96) (P 140)

Bob T. -early delegate, Mississippi lawyer, drew up Conference resolution not to ask for Congressional Charter (A 126-127)

Bob V. -wife Mag; farm house Wilson's stayed; rooms called Upper & Lower Siberia cause cold, located Bog Hollow Monsey New York fall 1939; started meetings Rockland State Hospital December 1939, executive pharmaceutical house, enthusiastic A.A. 1937, started several groups South American counties, slipped (A viii, 11, 179) (B 291) (L 122, 127) (P 218)

Bobbie B. -replaced Ruth Hock 1942; former dancer, A.A.; present when some blacks came meeting with Southerners there, blacks were invited back as visitors (A 16, 195) (B 334) (H 66, 152) (L 141) (P 304, 317)

Boss - Bill's nickname Dr. Burnham (B 127)

Boys Central Garage -drove Dr. Bob home when drunk (C 117) (D 40)

Brinkley Smithers -good friend Bill, chartered Lear jet Bill Bedford Hills New York-Miami Heart Clinic January 24 1971 (G 1)

Brooke B. -from Calvary Mission attended Tuesday night meetings Bill's house (L 102) (P 162)

Brotherhood - those worked Calvary Episcopal Mission 23rd Street New York, Dr. Sam Shoemaker's Calvary Church operated (P 115-116)

Brown family -very poor family shared Christmas dinner 1925 Bill & Lois during motorcycle trip (L 46)

Bruce H. -1st use radio carry A.A. message Jacksonville (A 25)

Bruce M. -met Dr. Bob 1942 & 1943, sober 1945 Canton Ohio (D 276)

Buckets - nickname Alex, young Finnish man Bill met December 1934 way investigate Calvary Episcopal Mission 23rd Street New York (B 214) (L 88, 91) (N 18) (P 116)

Bud G. -Little Rock Arkansas so anonymous leader spoke behind curtain 1,200 people (L 143)

Bud F. -Los Angeles A.A. (P 288)

Buffalo Bill -circus performer (P 30)

Bum from St. Louis -what Tom M. caretaker 24th Street Clubhouse called Father Dowling letting Bill know night 1940 he had visitor (A 38) (H 366) (P 241)

---

---