| March-May 1938 | Bill begins writing the book Alcoholics Anonymous. |
| May 1939 | Lois W Home Replacement Fund started at Alcoholic Foundation. |
| May 1949 | The first AA meetings in Scotland were held in Glasgow and Edinburgh. |
| May 1950 | Nell Wing became Bill W’s secretary. |
| May 1951 | Al-Anon is founded by Lois W. and Anne B. |
| May 1, 1939 | Bank forecloses on 182 Clinton Street. (sometimes reported as April 26, 1939) |
| May 1, 1940 | Rollie H, Cleveland Indians, first anonymity break on national level. |
| May 1, 1941 | The first Wisconsin AA meeting was held at a hotel in Milwaukee. |
| May 2, 1941 | Jacksonville, FL newspaper reported the start of an AA group in Jacksonville. |
| May 3, 1941 | The first AA group in New Orleans, Louisiana, was formed. (sometimes dated as May 2, 1943) |
| May 3, 1941 | Democrat Chronicle in Rochester, NY, reported first annual AA dinner at Seneca hotel with 60 attending. |
| May 4, 1940 | Sunday Star reported founding of first AA group in Washington, DC. |
| May 6, 1939 | Clarence S of Cleveland told Dr. Bob, his sponsor, he would not be back to Oxford Group meetings in Akron and would start an “AA” meeting in Cleveland. |
| May 6, 1946 | The long form of the “Twelve Traditions” was published in the AA Grapevine. |
| May 8, 1943 | Akron AA Group celebrates 8th anniversary with 500 present and sober. |
| May 8, 1971 | Bill W buried in private ceremony, East Dorset, Vermont. |
| May 10, 1939 | Clarence S announced to the Akron Oxford Group members that the Cleveland members were starting a meeting in Cleveland and calling it Alcoholics Anonymous. |
| May 11, 1935 | Bill W made calls from the Mayflower Hotel and was referred to Dr. Bob. |
| May 11, 1939 | first group to officially call itself Alcoholics Anonymous met at Abby G’s house in Cleveland. (some sources say the 18th) |
| May 12, 1935 @ 5 pm | Bill W met Doctor Bob at the home of Henrietta Seiberling. |
| May 15, 1961 | Bill W’s mother, Dr Emily Strobell, died. |
| May 16, 1941 | Ruth Hock finds that Joe W. (or V.), credited with coming up with the name Alcoholics Anonymous, has a “wet brain”. |
| May 17, 1942 | The Dayton Journal Herald published pictures of AA members wearing masks to protect their anonymity. |
| May 17, 1942 | New Haven, Conn paper has article on AA. Picture shows faces of members sitting in a circle. |
| May 18, 1950 | Dr. Bob tells Bill “I reckon we ought to be buried like other folks” after hearing that local AA’s want a huge memorial. |
| May 19, 2000 | Dr. Paul O., Big Book story “Doctor, Alcoholic, Addict” (renamed “Acceptance Was the Answer” in the 4th edition) died at the age of 83. |
| May 28, 1974 | The first World Service Meeting of AA outside North America was held in London. |
| May 29, 1980 | “Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers” was published. |