History of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (Watchtower Society)
February 24, 2024 by
William Heinrich
| 1852 | Birth of Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. |
| 1867 | Russell joined a Congregational Church at the age of 15 (his parents were Presbyterians). |
| 1869 | Russell became an agnostic. (17) |
| 1870 | Russell regained his faith and became very interested in the Bible after attending a Second Adventist Bible study. |
| 1872 | Charles Taze Russell founded the International Bible Students Association in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
| 1874 | Year designated by Charles Taze Russell as the year of Christ’s invisible return (with the visible return to occur in 1914). |
| 1877 | Russell co-wrote and published Three Worlds and the Harvest of This World. |
| 1879 | Russell began publishing the Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence magazine. |
| 1881 | Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society was established as an unincorporated body (incorporated in 1884). |
| 1886 | Russell began writing Studies in the Scriptures, which came to be considered second only to the Bible in its importance. |
| 1908 | Russell moved headquarters from Pittsburgh to New York. |
| 1914 | Year designated by Russell for Christ’s second coming. |
| 1916 | Russell died and was succeeded by “Judge” Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942). Rutherford had not been chosen by Russell and was elected amidst some controversy. |
| 1925 | Year predicted by Rutherford as year Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets would return to earth. |
| 1931 | Judge Rutherford adopted the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” for the group, based on Isaiah 43:10. |
| 1942 | Rutherford died and was succeeded by Nathan Homer Knorr (1905-77). |
| 1975 | Year predicted for Armageddon, based on calculation of Adam’s creation (determined to be 4026 BC) plus 6000 years. |
| 1977 | Death of Knorr, who was succeeded by Frederick Franz. Franz explained the uneventful 1975 by noting that perhaps Eve was created several months or years after Adam, and Armageddon would occur 6000 years from that date. |
| 1993 | Milton Henschel succeeded Franz. |