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Bill W.
William Griffith Wilson (November 26, 1895 – January 24, 1971), also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was an American businessman who co-conceived and co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), with fellow co-founder Bob Smith.
AA is an international mutual aid fellowship with about two million members worldwide belonging to AA groups, associations, organizations, cooperatives, and fellowships of alcoholics helping other alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety. Following AA's Twelfth Tradition of anonymity, within the organization Wilson is commonly known as "Bill W." or "Bill". After his death, with his prior written permission, his full name was included in obituaries.
Wilson's sobriety from alcohol, which he maintained until his death, began December 11, 1934. In 1955, he turned over control of AA to a board of trustees. He died in 1971, and in 1999 Time listed him as "Bill W.: The Healer" in the Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century.
Wilson was born on November 26, 1895, in East Dorset, Vermont, the son of Emily (née Griffith) and Gilman Barrows Wilson. He was born at his parents' home and business, the Mount Aeolus Inn and Tavern. His sister, Dorothy, was born in 1898. His paternal grandfather, William C. Wilson, a hotelier and second-generation marble worker, was an alcoholic. Influenced by the preaching of an itinerant evangelist, some weeks before, William C. Wilson climbed to the top of Mount Aeolus, had a spiritual experience and quit drinking.
Wilson's parents divorced in 1906. His father left for western Canada, and his mother left soon after to study osteopathic medicine in Massachusetts. He and his sister, abandoned by their parents, were raised by their maternal grandparents, Gardner Fayette Griffith and Ella (née Brock).
By 1908, Wilson had met Mark Whalon, a fellow East Dorset resident who was nine years his senior. Whalon became Wilson's closest childhood friend, and introduced him to the world of ideas. Whalon continued to be a confidant, counselor, and emotional support to Wilson, even after Wilson became world famous, and as of Whalon's death in 1956 was still Wilson's best friend. Wilson later wrote of him, "He was a sort of uncle or father to me."
Wilson became the captain of his high school's football team, and the principal violinist in its orchestra. He dealt with a serious bout of depression at the age of 17, following the death of his first love, Bertha Bamford, who died of complications from surgery.
Wilson met his future wife Lois Burnham during the summer of 1913 while sailing on Vermont's Emerald Lake; two years later, the couple became engaged. He entered Norwich University, but depression and panic attacks forced him to leave during his second semester. The next year he returned, but he was soon suspended with a group of students involved in a hazing incident. No one would take responsibility, and no one would identify the perpetrators, so the entire class was punished.
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Bill W.
William Griffith Wilson (November 26, 1895 – January 24, 1971), also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was an American businessman who co-conceived and co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), with fellow co-founder Bob Smith.
AA is an international mutual aid fellowship with about two million members worldwide belonging to AA groups, associations, organizations, cooperatives, and fellowships of alcoholics helping other alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety. Following AA's Twelfth Tradition of anonymity, within the organization Wilson is commonly known as "Bill W." or "Bill". After his death, with his prior written permission, his full name was included in obituaries.
Wilson's sobriety from alcohol, which he maintained until his death, began December 11, 1934. In 1955, he turned over control of AA to a board of trustees. He died in 1971, and in 1999 Time listed him as "Bill W.: The Healer" in the Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century.
Wilson was born on November 26, 1895, in East Dorset, Vermont, the son of Emily (née Griffith) and Gilman Barrows Wilson. He was born at his parents' home and business, the Mount Aeolus Inn and Tavern. His sister, Dorothy, was born in 1898. His paternal grandfather, William C. Wilson, a hotelier and second-generation marble worker, was an alcoholic. Influenced by the preaching of an itinerant evangelist, some weeks before, William C. Wilson climbed to the top of Mount Aeolus, had a spiritual experience and quit drinking.
Wilson's parents divorced in 1906. His father left for western Canada, and his mother left soon after to study osteopathic medicine in Massachusetts. He and his sister, abandoned by their parents, were raised by their maternal grandparents, Gardner Fayette Griffith and Ella (née Brock).
By 1908, Wilson had met Mark Whalon, a fellow East Dorset resident who was nine years his senior. Whalon became Wilson's closest childhood friend, and introduced him to the world of ideas. Whalon continued to be a confidant, counselor, and emotional support to Wilson, even after Wilson became world famous, and as of Whalon's death in 1956 was still Wilson's best friend. Wilson later wrote of him, "He was a sort of uncle or father to me."
Wilson became the captain of his high school's football team, and the principal violinist in its orchestra. He dealt with a serious bout of depression at the age of 17, following the death of his first love, Bertha Bamford, who died of complications from surgery.
Wilson met his future wife Lois Burnham during the summer of 1913 while sailing on Vermont's Emerald Lake; two years later, the couple became engaged. He entered Norwich University, but depression and panic attacks forced him to leave during his second semester. The next year he returned, but he was soon suspended with a group of students involved in a hazing incident. No one would take responsibility, and no one would identify the perpetrators, so the entire class was punished.