Bill W. 331004 225864224 2008-07-15T19:28:29Z MisterAlbert 5837885 /* Political Beliefs */ reference {{TOCright}} '''William Griffith Wilson''' ([[26 November]] [[1895]] – [[24 January]] [[1971]]), also known as '''Bill Wilson''' or '''Bill W.''', was the co-founder of [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] (AA), a fellowship of [[self-help]] groups dedicated to helping [[Alcoholism|alcoholics]] recover from their [[disease]]. According to the [[Twelve Traditions|AA Twelfth tradition]] of anonymity, Wilson was and still is commonly known as "Bill W." Wilson achieved sobriety in 1935 and maintained it throughout his remaining 35 years. Despite the success and notoriety afforded him by the accomplishments and growth of AA under his leadership, he continued to suffer from compulsive behavior and episodes of depression. In 1955 Wilson turned over control of AA to a board of trustees. In the years before his death he changed the makeup of the board, which was initially composed of non-alcoholics, to trustees who were both recovering alcoholics and non-alcoholics. In keeping with his interest in spirituality, he and other early leaders of the movement also considered and experimented with other possible cures for alcoholism. These therapies included [[niacin]] (vitamin B3) and [[Lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD]] as a means of inducing spiritual change.<ref>Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (1984), ''"Pass it on": the story of Bill Wilson and how the A.A. message reached the world'',ISBN 0916856127.</ref> Wilson died of emphysema complicated by pneumonia in 1971. His wife, [[Lois Wilson (activist)|Lois Wilson]], was the founder of [[Al-Anon]], a group dedicated to helping the friends and relatives of alcoholics. In 1999 [[Time Magazine]] declared Bill Wilson to be in the top twenty of the ''Time 100: Heroes and Icons'' who exemplified "courage, selflessness, exuberance, superhuman ability and amazing grace" in the 20th century.<ref>Time Magazine [http://www.time.com/time/time100/index_2000_time100.html Time 100:The most important people of the century], URL retrieved [[December 31]], [[2007]]</ref> == Childhood == Bill Wilson was born on [[November 26]], [[1895]] in [[Dorset, Vermont|East Dorset, Vermont]]. When he was 10, his father left on a business trip that turned out to be a permanent absence, and his mother announced that she would be leaving the family to study [[Osteopathic medicine in the United States|osteopathic medicine]]. Abandoned by their parents, Wilson and his sister were left in the care of their maternal grandparents. Wilson showed some talent and determination in his teen years. He designed and carved a working boomerang after dozens of failed efforts, and taught himself to play the violin by dogged persistence, pasting a diagram of the notes to the neck of the instrument. At school, after initial difficulties, he found success in sports. But he experienced a serious depression at the age of seventeen when his first love, Bertha Bamford, died from complications during surgery. == Marriage, work, and addiction == Wilson met his future wife Lois Burnham, who was four years older than he, during the summer of 1913 while sailing on Vermont's Emerald Lake; two years later the couple became engaged. Wilson was called into the army in 1917. During military training in Massachusetts, the young officers were often invited to dinner by the locals, and Wilson had his first drink, a glass of beer, to little effect.<ref>[[Susan Cheever|Cheever, Susan]]. (2004). ''My Name is Bill''. Simon and Schuster, p 73. ISBN 074320154X.</ref> A few weeks later at another dinner party, Wilson drank some [[Bronx (cocktail)|Bronx cocktails]], and felt at ease with the guests and liberated from his awkward shyness; "I had found the elixir of life," he wrote.<ref>"Bill W.: from the rubble of a wasted life, he overcame alcoholism and founded the 12-step program that has helped millions of others do the same." (Time's "The Most Important People of the 20th Century".) Susan Cheever. ''[[Time]]'' 153.23 ([[June 14]], [[1999]]): p201+.</ref> "Even that first evening I got thoroughly drunk, and within the next time or two I passed out completely. But as everyone drank hard, not too much was made of that."<ref>''Pass It On: The Story of Bill Wilson and How the A. A. Message Reached the World'', New York: Alcoholics Anonymous 1984, ISBN-10: 0916856127, p 56.</ref> Bill and Lois were married on [[January 24]], [[1918]], just before he left to join the war in Europe as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Coast Artillery<ref>''Pass It On'' p 54.</ref>. After an uneventful military service but much exposure to wine and beer, Wilson returned to live with his wife in New York, his dependence on alcohol now fully established. He failed to graduate from law school because he was too drunk to pick up his diploma.<ref>Cheever, 2004, p 91.</ref> Wilson became a stock [[Speculation|speculator]] and had success traveling the country with his wife, evaluating companies for potential investors. (During these trips Lois had a hidden agenda: she hoped the travel would keep Wilson from drinking.<ref>''Pass it on'' p 59.</ref>) However, Wilson's constant drinking made business impossible and ruined his reputation. As Wilson's drinking grew more serious, starting in 1933 he had to be committed to the Charles B. Towns Hospital for Drug and Alcohol Addictions in [[New York City]] four times under the care of [[William Duncan Silkworth|Dr. William D. Silkworth]]. Silkworth's theory was that alcoholism took the form of an allergy (the inability to stop drinking once started) and an obsession (to take the first drink). Wilson gained hope from Silkworth's assertion alcoholism was a medical condition rather than a moral failing, but even that knowledge could not help him. He was eventually told that he would either die from his alcoholism or have to be locked up permanently due to alcoholic insanity. ==Political Beliefs== Wilson was a lifelong [[political conservative]], he opposed [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] as well as [[The New Deal]] . Though he benefited from Roosevelt's mortgage moratorium that enabled him to keep a roof over his head, he wrote letters to Roosevelt denouncing The New Deal. Wilson and his wife were living in Lois's father's house at the time and the moratorium prevented mortgage foreclosers, they satified the mortgage company with a small monthly fee.<ref>Hartigan,Francis "Bill W" p. 5 & 49</ref> == A spiritual program for recovery == In November 1934, Wilson was visited by old drinking companion [[Ebby Thacher]]. Wilson was astounded to find that Thacher had been sober for several weeks under the guidance of the [[Evangelism|evangelical]] Christian [[Oxford Group]]<ref>''Pass it on'' p 130.</ref>. Wilson took some interest in the Group, but shortly after Thacher's visit, he was again admitted to Towns Hospital to recover from a bout of drinking. This was his fourth and last stay at Towns hospital and under Silkworth's care Wilson was administered a drug cure concocted by [[Charles B. Towns]] that contained the [[deliriants]] [[Belladonna]] and [[Hyoscyamus niger]] which cause the patient to have deliriums and [[hallucinations]]. It was while undegoing this treatment Wilson experienced his "Hot Flash" spiritual conversion and quit drinking. <ref>Pittman, Bill "AA the Way it Began p. 163-165</ref> . According to Wilson, while lying in bed depressed and despairing, he cried out, "I'll do anything! Anything at all! If there be a God, let Him show Himself!".<ref>''Pass it on'' p 121.</ref> He then had the sensation of a bright light, a feeling of ecstasy, and a new serenity. He never drank again for the remainder of his life. Wilson described his experience to Dr. Silkworth, who told him not to discount it. Wilson joined the [[Oxford Group]] and tried to help other alcoholics, but had no success. During a failed business trip to [[Akron, Ohio]] Wilson was tempted to drink again and decided that to remain sober he needed to help another alcoholic. He called phone numbers on a church directory and eventually secured an introduction to [[Bob Smith (doctor)|Dr. Bob Smith]], an alcoholic Oxford Group member. Wilson guided Smith through his spiritual procedure, and Smith too gained sobriety. Wilson and Smith began taking their method to other alcoholics. Wilson soon returned to New York where he founded an Oxford Group for alcoholics there. In 1938, after about 100 alcoholics in Akron and New York had become sober, the fellowship decided to promote their program of recovery through the publication of a book, for which Wilson was chosen as primary author. The book was given the title ''Alcoholics Anonymous'' and included the list of suggested activities for spiritual growth known as the [[Twelve Steps]]. The movement itself took on the name of the book. Later Wilson also wrote the [[Twelve Traditions]], the guidelines for AA groups. The AA general service conference of 1955 was a landmark event for Wilson in which he turned over the leadership of the maturing organization to an elected board. {{details|History of Alcoholics Anonymous}} ==The final years== During the last years of his life, Wilson ceased attending AA meetings on the grounds that he would always be asked to speak as the co-founder rather than as an alcoholic.<ref>Raphael 2000, p. 167.</ref> Wilson's life was continuously slowed by smoking which brought on [[emphysema]] and later [[pneumonia]]. He continued to smoke while dependent on an oxygen tank in the late 1960s.<ref>Cheever, 2004, pp 245 - 247.</ref> Though he had nothing to drink for the last 35 years he continued to crave alcohol{{Fact|date=March 2008}} and on his death bed demanded whisky, which his attendants refused him. <ref> http://www.powells.com/review/2004_06_27.html Spirit against spirits (review of ''My Name is Bill'' by Susan Cheevers), Times Literary Supplement, [[June 27]], [[2004]].</ref> During the last days of his life, Wilson was visited by colleagues and friends who wanted to say goodbye. Wilson died of emphysema and pneumonia on [[24 January]] [[1971]] en route to treatment in [[Miami, Florida]]. ==Marital difficulties== Wilson was serially unfaithful to his wife Lois.<ref>[http://www.powells.com/review/2004_06_27.html Powell's Books - Review-a-Day - My Name Is Bill: Bill Wilson-His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous by Susan Cheever, reviewed by Times Literary Supplement<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Wilson 's compulsive sexual pusuits , his affairs with women, caused controversy and concern within AA and it was common knowledge in New York AA circles. He was very open about it and it caused him to lose friendships. His interest in younger women increased with his age, and caused Barry Leach and other friends of Wilson to form a "Founders Watch". People were assigned to keep an eye on Wilson during the socializing that followed AA functions and to separate and steer away those young women who caught Wilson's interest. Wilson, like many in his generation, could be sexist, but he was also "capable of treating the women who worked with him with dignity and respect". His attitude towards his wife Lois, she was like a mother to him , hence justified his sexual pursuits. In the mid 1950s he began an affair with Helen Wyn, a woman 22 years his junior, "in duration, intensity and scope" this was different from his other affairs. Wilson at one point discussed divorcing Lois to marry Helen. Wilson with determined perseverance was able to overcome the AA trustees objections, and renegotiated his royalty agreements with them in 1963, which allowed him to include Helen Wynn in his estate. He left 10% of his book royalties to Helen and the other 90% to his wife Lois. In 1968 with Wilson's illness making it harder for them to spend time together, Helen bought a house in Ireland. <ref> Franics Haritigan ''Bill W.'' Chapter 25 p.190-197 and pages 170-171 St. Martins Press, year 2000, 1st edition, IBSN 0-312-20056-0</ref> ==Alternative cures and spiritualism== In the 1950s Wilson experimented with LSD in medically supervised experiments with [[Gerald Heard]] and [[Aldous Huxley]]. With Wilson's invitation his wife Lois, Father Dowling, and Nell Wing also participated in experimentation of this drug. Later Wilson wrote to Carl Jung, praising the results and recommending it as validation of Jung's spiritual experience. (The letter was not in fact sent as Jung had died.)<ref>Francis Hartigan ''Bill Wilson'' p. 177-179.</ref> At a [[parapsychology]] meeting in the 1960s, Wilson met [[Abram Hoffer]] and learned about the potential mood-stabilizing effects of [[niacin]]. Wilson was impressed with experiments indicating that alcoholics who were given niacin had a better sobriety rate, and he began to see niacin "as completing the third leg in the stool, the physical to complement the spiritual and emotional." Wilson also believed that niacin had given him relief from depression, and he promoted the vitamin within the AA community and with the National Institute of Mental Health as a treatment for schizophrenia. However, Wilson created a major furor in AA because he used the AA office and letterhead in his promotion.<ref> Francis Hartigan ''Bill W'' P.205-208</ref> For Wilson, [[spiritualism]] (communicating with the spirits of the dead) was a life-long interest. One of his letters to his spiritual adviser Father Ed Dowling suggests that while Wilson was working on his book ''Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions'' he felt that spirits were helping him, in particular a 15th century monk named Boniface.<ref>Robert Fitzgerald. ''The Soul of Sponsorship: The Friendship of Fr. Ed Dowling, S.J. and Bill Wilson in Letters.'' Hazelden Publishing & Educational Services: 1995. ISBN-13: 978-1568380841. p 59.</ref> Wilson believed that the living could communicate with the dead and kept a "Spook Room" in his basement, where he along with others would conduct [[seances]] with a [[Ouija|Ouija board]], as well as experiment with [[automatic writing]]. Despite his conviction that he had evidence for the reality of the spirit world, Wilson chose not to share this with AA. However his practices still created controversy within the AA membership, with one member writing to [[C. S. Lewis]] for advice on the legitimacy of spiritualism. Wilson and his wife continued with their unusual practices in spite of the misgivings of many AA members and a letter from Lewis advising against spiritualism.<ref>Harigan, Francis, Bill w. </ref><ref>Ernest Kurtz. ''Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous.'' Hazelden Educational Foundation, Center City, MN, 1979. p 136.</ref> == Wilson's legacy== Wilson bought a house that he and Lois called [[Stepping Stones (home)|Stepping Stones]] on an 8-acre estate in [[Bedford Hills, New York]] in 1941, and he lived there with Lois until he died. After Lois died in 1988, the house was opened for tours and is now on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/nyregion/06aa.html Alcoholics Anonymous Founder’s House Is a Self-Help Landmark - New York Times] [[July 6]], [[2007]]</ref> Wilson was a man of many great strengths and just as great weaknesses. He loved being the center of attention, but after the AA principle of anonymity had become established he refused an honorary degree from [[Yale University]] and refused to allow his picture, even from the back, on the cover of ''Time''. Wilson's persistence, his ability to take and use good ideas, and his entrepreneurial flair<ref>Griffith Edwards. ''Alcohol: The World's Favorite Drug''. 1st U.S. ed. New York : Thomas Dunne Books, 2002. ISBN 0-312-28387-3. p 109.</ref> are revealed in his pioneering escape from an alcoholic 'death sentence', his central role in the development of a program of spiritual growth, and his leadership in creating and building AA, "an independent, entrepreneurial, maddeningly democratic, non-profit organization."<ref>Are we making the most of Alcoholics Anonymous? Peter Armstrong. ''The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health'' 5.1, Jan-Feb 2002. p16.</ref> Wilson is perhaps best known as a synthesist of ideas,<ref>Cheever, 2004, p 122.</ref> the man who pulled together various threads of psychology, theology, and democracy into a workable and life-saving system. Aldous Huxley called him "the greatest social architect of our century,"<ref>Cheever, 1999.</ref> and [[Time (magazine)|Time magazine]] named Wilson to their ''Time 100 List of The Most Important People of the 20th Century''.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/wilson01_OLD.html Time 100 Most Important]</ref> Wilson's self description was a man who "because of his bitter experience, discovered, slowly and through a conversion experience, a system of behavior and a series of actions that works for alcoholics who want to stop drinking." In a review of Susan Cheever's ''My Name Is Bill'', John Sutherland summed up Wilson's character and life as follows: {{Quote|Despite his programme's insistence on "rigorous honesty", Bill W. lived a lie. He had innumerable affairs and a long-term mistress with whom he contemplated eloping to Ireland (the scandal would probably have destroyed Alcoholics Anonymous). Susan Cheever's final judgement is unblinking but forgiving: "Bill Wilson never held himself up as a model: he only hoped to help other people by sharing his own experience, strength and hope. He insisted again and again that he was just an ordinary man". An ordinary man who nonetheless did one extraordinary thing."<ref>Sutherland, John. [http://www.powells.com/review/2004_06_27.html "My Name Is Bill: Bill Wilson--His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous"] (book review). ''The Times Literary Supplement'', June 27, 2004.</ref>}} ==See also== *[[Alcoholics Anonymous]] *[[History of Alcoholics Anonymous]] *[[Twelve-step program]] *[[Twelve traditions]] *[[Alcoholism]] *[[Addiction]] *[[William Duncan Silkworth]] *[[Bill W. and Dr. Bob]] (theatrical play) == Sources and further reading== * {{cite book | url = http://www.aa.org/default/en_services_aa.cfm?pageid=46 | title = The A.A. Service Manual combined with Twelve Concepts for World Service | author = Bill W. | edition = 2004-2005 Edition | location = New York | publisher = [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] | date = 2004 }} * {{cite book | |title= My Name is Bill, Bill Wilson: His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous |author=Susan Cheever |location= New York |publisher= Simon & Schuster/ Washington Square Press |id= {{auto isbn|0|7|4|3|4|0|5|9|1|0-7434-0591}} (paperback) }} * {{cite book | url = http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/ | title = Alcoholics Anonymous. The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism | author = Bill W. | location = New York | publisher = [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] | edition = 4th ed. new and rev. 2001 | id = ISBN 1-893007-16-2, Dewey 362.29 A347 2001 }} ('Big Book') * {{cite book | title = Alcoholics Anonymous Comes Of Age | author = Bill W. | location = New York | publisher = [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] | 1990 | id = ISBN 0-916856-02-X, LC HV5278.A78A4, Dewey: 178.1 A1c }} * {{cite book | title = As Bill Sees It | author = Bill W. | location = New York | publisher = [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] | date = 1967 | id = ISBN 0-916856-03-8, Dewey 616.861 ASB }} * {{cite book | author = Bill W. | title = My First 40 Years. An Autobiography by the Cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous | location = Center City, Minnesota | publisher = Hazelden, 55012-0176 | date = 2000 | id = ISBN 1-56838-373-8, Dewey B W11w 2000 }} * {{cite book | title = Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers | location = New York | publisher = [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] | date = 1980 | id = ISBN 0-916856-07-0, LCCN 80-65962, LC HV5278.D62 1980 }} * {{cite book | first = Francis | last = Hartigan | title = Bill W. A Biography of Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson | location = New York | publisher = Thomas Dunne Books | date = 2000 | id = ISBN 0-312-20056-0, Dewey B W11h 2000 }} * {{cite book | first = Ernest | last = Kurtz | title = Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous | location = Center City, Minnesota | publisher = Hazelden | date = 1979 | id = ISBN 0-89486-065-8 or ISBN 0-89486-065-8 (pbk.), LC HV5278, LCCN 79-88264, Dewey 362.2/9286 or 362.29286 K87 1979 }} * {{cite book | title = Pass It On: The story of Bill Wilson and how the A.A. message reached the world | location = New York | publisher = [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] | date = 1984 | id = ISBN 0-916856-12-7, LC HV5032 .W19P37x 1984, LCCN 84-072766, Dewey 362.29/286/O92 }} * {{cite book | first = Matthew J. | last = Raphael | title = Bill W. and Mr. Wilson: The Legend and Life of A.A.'s Cofounder | location = Amherst, Massachusetts | publisher = University of Massachusetts Press | date = 2000 | id = ISBN 1-55849-245-3 }} * {{cite book | first = Robert | last = Thomsen | title = Bill W. | location = New York | publisher = Harper & Rowe | date = 1975 | id = ISBN 0-06-014267-7, Dewey 362.29 W112t }} * {{cite book | title = Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions | location = New York | publisher = [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] | date = 1953 | id = ISBN 0-916856-01-1 }} == References == {{reflist}} <!-- Metadata --> {{Persondata |NAME=Wilson, Bill |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=W., Bill (Common referent); Wilson, William Griffith (full name) |SHORT DESCRIPTION=Founder of [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] |DATE OF BIRTH=[[26 November]] [[1895]] |PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Dorset, Vermont]], [[United States]] |DATE OF DEATH=[[24 January]] [[1971]] |PLACE OF DEATH=[[Miami, Florida]], [[United States]] }} {{DEFAULTSORT:W., Bill}} <!-- Categories --> [[Category:1895 births]] [[Category:1971 deaths]] [[Category:Alcohol abuse]] [[Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics]] [[Category:Twelve-step programs]] [[Category:Drug rehabilitation]] [[de:William Griffith Wilson]] [[es:Bill W]] [[ja:ビル・ウィルソン]] [[pl:William Griffith Wilson]] [[sv:William Griffith Wilson]]