Hi Ted

The date of June 17 looks pretty compelling as Dr Bob's dry date. Barefoot Bill obtained confirmation from the AMA Archives in Chicago, IL that the 1935 Atlantic City, NJ Convention was held from Mon to Fri, June 10-14, 1935. Also, there is a graphic of the AMA convention program circulating on the web and it clearly indicates June 10-14. There are also good clues in the literature for a deduction.

In AA Comes of Age (pgs 70-71) Bill writes "So he [Dr Bob] went to the Atlantic City Medical Convention and nothing was heard of him for several days."

In Dr Bob and the Good Oldtimers (pgs 72-75) it cites (with my editing for brevity) 

Dr Bob ... began drinking … as he boarded the train to Atlantic City. On his arrival he bought several quarts on his way to the hotel. That was Sunday night. He stayed sober on Monday until after dinner... On Tuesday, Bob started drinking in the morning and … [checked out of the hotel]… The next thing he knew … he was … in the … home of his office nurse... The blackout was certainly more than 24 hours long … Bill and Anne had waited for five days from the time Bob left before they heard from the nurse... She had picked him up that morning at the Akron railroad station...

As Bill and Sue remembered, there was a 3-day sobering up period... Upon Dr Bob's return, they had discovered that he was due to perform surgery 3 days later... At 4 o'clock on the morning of the operation [Bob] … said "I am going through with this...” On the way to City Hospital ... Bill … gave him a beer…

In the video Bill's Own Story, Bill says he gave Dr Bob a beer and a "goofball" [a barbiturate] on the morning of the surgery. The same information is repeated in Pass It On, pgs 147-149.

See also Not God, pgs 32-33.

Estimate on the turn of events:

June               Dr Bob

09 Sunday        Checked into Atlantic City Hotel (started drinking on the train on the way in)

10 Monday       Stayed sober until after dinner

11 Tuesday      Began drinking in the morning - later checked out of the hotel.

12 Wednesday  Went into blackout (likely greater than 24 hours)

13 Thursday     Blackout continues (may have arrived at Akron train station)

14 Friday         Picked up by nurse in the morning at the train station

                       Then picked up by Bill at nurse’s house (5 days after leaving)

                       Day 1 of 3-day dry out period

15 Saturday      Day 2 of 3-day dry out period

16 Sunday        Day 3 of 3-day dry out period

17 Monday       Day of surgery - Bill gives Bob a beer and a goofball (3 days after Bob’s return)

Cheers

Arthur

The following question was received recently from Ted C. in Australia:
 
Subject: Dr Bob's Last Drink

Can anyone ascertain the EXACT date of Dr Bob's last drink.
Assuming the medical convention that he attended in June actually started on the 10th, as reported on this forum, and given the travelling time back from Atlantic City. Add to that the blackout that he had.(pp73-74 Dr Bob & the GOT) etc., and considering that surgeons only operated on perhaps one day a week, an exact date could be ascertained.
 
TedC

I sent him this response, but I do not think it has been previously posted:

This article is written by nationally recognized historian and oft-quoted Alcoholics Anonymous archivist Mitchell K.

Dr. Bob's Last Drink

Bill W. had met a kindred spirit in Dr. Bob. Both men were born in Vermont, both were intelligent and both were alcoholics. They somehow knew that fateful evening in Henrietta Seiberling's Gatehouse home both of them were going to be okay.

Dr. Bob kept his promise to Anne. That is, until he boarded the train to Atlantic City.

After a few weeks of working with each other and attempting to deliver the message of recovery to other alcoholics Bill and Dr. Bob did not appear to be discouraged. Despite their not being able to bring another rummy into the fold -- they were staying sober. Quite a feat for Dr. Bob who had been attending Oxford Group meetings even prior to getting together with Bill.

Dr. Bob was feeling so secure that he decided to attend a convention of the American Medical Association. He had not missed a convention in 20 years and did not plan on missing this one. Bob's wife, Anne was set against him attending the convention. She remembered previous ones where he had gotten drunk.

Dr. Bob assured her that he would not drink. He said that alcoholics, even those who had stopped drinking, would have to begin to learn how to live in the real world. She finally agreed and off he went.

Dr. Bob kept his promise to Anne. That is, until he boarded the train to Atlantic City. Once on the train Dr. Bob began to drink in earnest. He drank all the way to Atlantic City, purchased more bottles prior to checking in to the hotel. That was on a Sunday evening.

Dr. Bob stayed sober on Monday until after dinner. He then resumed his drinking. Upon awakening Tuesday morning his drinking continued until noon. He then realized that he was about to disgrace himself by showing up at the convention drunk.

24-Hour Blackout

He decided to check out of the hotel and return home. He purchased more alcohol on the way to the train depot. He waited for the train for a long time and continued to drink. That was all he remembered until waking up in the home of his office nurse and her husband back in Ohio.

In order to insure the steadiness of Dr. Bob's hands during the operation Bill gave him a bottle of beer.

Dr. Bob's blackout lasted over 24 hours. There was a five-day period from when Dr. Bob left for the convention to when the nurse called Anne and Bill. They took Dr. Bob home and put him to bed. The detoxification process began once again. That process usually lasted three days according to Bill. They tapered Dr. Bob off of alcohol and fed him a diet of sauerkraut, tomato juice and Karo Syrup.

Bill had remembered that in three days, Dr. Bob was scheduled to perform surgery. On the day of the surgery, Dr. Bob had recovered sufficiently to go to work. In order to insure the steadiness of Dr. Bob's hands during the operation Bill gave him a bottle of beer. That was to be Dr. Bob's last drink and the "official" Founding date of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The operation was a success and Dr. Bob did not return home right after it. Both Bill and Anne were concerned to say the least. They later found out, after Dr. Bob had returned, that he was out making amends. Not drunk as they may have surmised, but happy and sober. That date according to the AA literature was June 10, 1935.

June 10, 1935, has been considered as AA's Founding Date for many years. After all, it was the date Dr. Bob had his last drink -- or was it? Recently discovered evidence appears to differ with the "official" literature.

The "Official" Date

The Archives of the American Medical Association reportedly show that their convention in Atlantic City, in the year 1935 did not start until June 10th. How could Dr. Bob have gone to the convention, by train -- check into a hotel -- attend the convention on Monday -- check out on Tuesday -- be in a blackout for 24 hours -- go through a three-day detoxification -- perform surgery on the day of his last drink -- June 10, 1935?

It now appears that the date of Dr. Bob's last drink was probably on, or about, June 17, 1935.

Five days had passed since Dr. Bob left for the convention and returned to Akron. There was the three-day detoxification process and then there was the day of the surgery. Approximately nine days had passed from when he left and the date of his last drink.

If the records of the American Medical Association are in error as to the date of their convention it is possible that June 10, 1935, was the date of Dr. Bob's last drink. If the records are in error, the 1935 convention would have been the only one in the history of the American Medical Association that was listed with the wrong date.

It now appears that the date of Dr. Bob's last drink was probably on, or about, June 17, 1935. Maybe AA should keep the June 10th date as a symbolic Founding Date rather than claim it as the actual one? Maybe the date should be changed to reflect historical accuracy?

Either way, Dr. Bob never drank again until his death, November 16, 1950. Dr. Bob sponsored more than 5,000 AA members and left the legacy of his life as an example. Dr. Bob told those he sponsored that there were three things one had to do to keep sober:

TRUST GOD, CLEAN HOUSE, HELP OTHERS.

More will be revealed…

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