Charles Taze Russell

Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) was the founder of both the Bible Students Movement and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Raised in a Presbyterian home, Russell quickly became disillusioned with traditional Christian teachings, such as those on the nature of Hell. After an encounter with an Adventist preacher, Russell was drawn to the Adventist prophetic speculations concerning the return of Christ and their viewpoint on hell as another word for the grave and not a place of eternal torment.

He went on to form the Bible Students study group and began to publish literature, such as the Studies in the Scriptures series. Russell went on to found Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence (now referred to as Watchtower) to promote his teachings, such as that Christ had returned invisibly in 1874 and emphasized end-time prophecy, culminating in the prediction that Christ would physically return in 1914.