William Griffith Wilson (November 26, 1895 – January 24, 1971), also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). AA is an international mutual aid fellowship with about two million members worldwide belonging to over 123,000 A.A. groups, associations, organizations, cooperatives, and fellowships of alcoholics helping other alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety. Following AA's Twelfth Tradition of anonymity, Wilson is commonly known as "Bill W." or "Bill". In order to identify each other, members of AA will sometimes ask others if they are "friends of Bill". Although this question can be confusing, because "Bill" is a common name, it does provide a means of establishing the common experience of AA membership. After Wilson's death in 1971, and amidst much controversy within the fellowship, his full name was included in obituaries by journalists who were unaware of the significance of maintaining anonymity within the organization. Wilson's sobriety from alcohol, which he maintained until his death, began December 11, 1934. In 1955 Wilson turned over control of AA to a board of trustees. Wilson died in 1971 of emphysema complicated by pneumonia from smoking tobacco. In 1999 Time listed him as "Bill W.: The Healer" in the Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century. Early life 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 paternal grandfather, William C. Wilson, was also an alcoholic. Influenced by the preaching of an itinerant evangelist, some weeks before, William C. Wilson climbed to the top of Mt. Aeolus and had a spiritual experience and never drank alcohol again. Both of Bill's parents abandoned him soon after he and his sister were bornhis father never returned from a purported business trip, and his mother left Vermont to study osteopathic medicine. Bill and his sister were raised by their maternal grandparents, Fayette and Ella Griffith. As a teen, Bill showed little interest in his academic studies and was rebellious. During a summer break in high school, he spent months designing and carving a boomerang to throw at birds, raccoons, and other local wildlife. After many difficult years during his early-mid teens, Bill became the captain of his high school's football team, and the principal violinist in its orchestra. Bill also dealt