88 years ago on June 10, 1935, Robert Holbrook Smith, a.k.a. ‘Dr. Bob,’ drank one bottle of beer to settle his nerves so he could perform an operation. It was the last drink he ever had. The date is celebrated as the anniversary of the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous, the organization Dr. Bob (left) co-founded with Bill Wilson, a.k.a. ‘Bill W’ (right).

Out of Bill W.’s and Dr. Bob’s regular meetings for chronic alcoholics at Akron City Hospital grew the Twelve Step Program of Recovery. Dr. Bob sponsored more than 5,000 alcoholics before his death on November 16, 1950.

In Dr. Bob’s remarks on July 30, 1950 at the First International AA
 Convention in Cleveland, OH, he said:

And one more thing: None of us would be here today if somebody hadn’t taken time to explain things to us, to give us a little pat on the back, to take us to a meeting or two, to do numerous little kind and thoughtful acts in our behalf. So let us never get such a degree of smug complacency that we’re not willing to extend, or attempt to extend, to our less fortunate brothers that help which has been so beneficial to us.

Dr. Bob was 71 years old.