Charles Taze Russell
Charles Taze Russell( February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916), or Pastor Russell, was an American Christian restorationist minister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and founder of what is now known as the Bible Student movement.
After his death, Jehovah's Witnesses and numerous independent Bible Student groups developed from this base.
In July 1879, Russell began publishing a monthly religious journal," Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence".
In 1881 he co-founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society with William Henry Conley as president; in 1884 the corporation was officially registered, with Russell as president.
Russell wrote many articles, books, tracts, pamphlets and sermons, totaling approximately 50,000 printed pages.
From 1886 to 1904, he published a six- volume Bible study series originally titled" Millennial Dawn", later renamed" Studies in the Scriptures", nearly 20 million copies of which were printed and distributed around the world in several languages during his lifetime.
( A seventh volume was commissioned by his successor as society president, Joseph Rutherford, and published in 1917.)
The Watch Tower Society ceased publication of Russell's writings in 1927, though his books are still published by several independent groups.
After Russell's death, a crisis arose surrounding Rutherford's leadership of the society, culminating in a movement- wide schism.
As many as three- quarters of the approximately 50,000 Bible Students who had been associating in 1917 had left by 1931.
This shift resulted in the formation of several groups that retained variations on the name" Bible Students".
Those who maintained fellowship with the Watch Tower Society adopted the name" Jehovah's witnesses" in 1931, while those who severed ties with the Society formed their own groups including the Pastoral Bible Institute in 1918, the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement in 1919, and the Dawn Bible Students Association in 1929.
Charles Hofmann
Franz Karl Hofmann, later Charles Hofmann( 176324 May 1823) was a Dutch musician and composer.
Joseph Franklin Rutherford
Joseph Franklin Rutherford (November 8, 1869 – January 8, 1942), also known as Judge Rutherford, was the second president of the incorporated Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.
He played a primary role in the organization and doctrinal development of Jehovah's Witnesses, which emerged from the Bible Student movement established by Charles Taze Russell.
Rutherford began a career in law, working as a court stenographer, trial lawyer and prosecutor.
He became a special judge in the 14th Judicial District of Missouri at some time after 1895.
He developed an interest in the doctrines of Watch Tower Society president Charles Taze Russell, which led to his joining the Bible Student movement, and he was baptized in 1906.
He was appointed the legal counsel for the Watch Tower Society in 1907, as well as a traveling representative prior to his election as president in 1917.
His early presidency was marked by a dispute with the Society's board of directors, in which four of its seven members accused him of autocratic behavior and sought to reduce his powers.
The resulting leadership crisis divided the Bible Student community and contributed to the loss of one-seventh of adherents by 1919 and thousands more by 1931.
Rutherford and seven other Watch Tower executives were imprisoned in 1918 after charges were laid over the publication of "The Finished Mystery", a book deemed seditious for its opposition to World War I.
Rutherford introduced many organizational and doctrinal changes that helped shape the current beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses.
He imposed a centralized administrative structure on the worldwide Bible Student movement, which he later called a theocracy, requiring all adherents to distribute literature via door to door preaching and to provide regular reports of their preaching activity.
He also instituted training programs for public speaking as part of their weekly meetings for worship.
He established 1914 as the date of Christ's invisible return, asserted that Christ died on a tree rather than a cross, formulated the current Witness concept of Armageddon as God's war on the wicked, and reinforced the belief that the start of Christ's millennial reign was imminent.
He condemned the observance of traditional celebrations such as Christmas and birthdays, the saluting of national flags and the singing of national anthems.
He introduced the name "Jehovah's witnesses" in 1931 and the term "Kingdom Hall" for houses of worship in 1935.
He wrote twenty-one books and was credited by the Society in 1942 with the distribution of almost 400 million books and booklets.
Despite significant decreases during the 1920s, overall membership increased more than sixfold by the end of Rutherford's 25 years as president.
W. Augustus Barratt
W. Augustus Barratt( 1873- 1947) was a Scottish- born, later American, songwriter and musician.
Nelson H. Barbour
Nelson H. Barbour( August 21, 1824 – August 30, 1905)
Barbour was an influential Adventist writer and publisher, best known for his association with and later opposition to Charles Taze Russell.
George Washington Bright
George Washington Bright( December 27, 1874 – March 20, 1949) was an American sailor serving in the United States Navy during the Spanish – American War who received the Medal of Honor for his actions.
Russell Smith
Russell or Russ Smith may refer to:
Russell Brown
Russell or Russ Brown may refer to:
George Ura
George Aura or George Ura geologist and explorer French origin Portuguese.
He was born in 1812.
He was a French settler in Algeria
He died in 1889 at the age of 77 years.
Catherine I of Russia
Catherine I( born, later known as Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya; –) was the second wife of Peter the Great and Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death.

Question: Who was born later, George Washington Bright or Charles Taze Russell?
Answer: George Washington Bright