| Dr. Bob Smith (Robert Holbrook Smith,
b. 8 August 1879; d. 16 November 1950) was a physician
and surgeon from Akron, Ohio and co founder of
Alcoholics Anonymous.
He was also known as Dr.
Bob.
He was born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where
he was raised, to Susan A. Holbrook and Walter Perrin
Smith. After graduation from Dartmouth College in 1902,
he completed medical school at the University of
Michigan. Dr Bob was married to Anne Ripley Smith who
played a vital role in the development of the
12 steps
of AA. Dr. Bob co-founded the recovery movement Alcoholics Anonymous with
Bill Wilson, in 1935. Smith
was called the "Prince of Twelfth Steppers" by
Bill
Wilson because he personally helped more than 5000
alcoholics without charge. Also, it was in his home that
the basic ideas of A.A. were developed. Many A.A. ideas
developed initially in an offshoot of the then-popular
Oxford Group, which was then a Christian movement. Dr.
Bob said that A.A.'s basic ideas came from their study
of the Bible, that he personally did not write or have
anything to do with the later writing of the
12 Steps,
but that the Steps, simmered down to their essence,
simply meant "love and service."
Dr. Bob's Last Message to Alcoholics Anonymous
Dr. Bob's Birthplace
Dr. Bob's Home
Dr. Bob's Prescription for Alcoholics
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Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book 4th Edition Hardcover
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age Hardcover
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