Russell, Charles Taze


Russell, Charles Taze,

1852–1916, founder of the movement whose followers are known as Russellites, as Bible Students, and (since 1931) as Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses,
Christian group originating in the United States at the end of the 19th cent., organized by Charles Taze Russell, whose doctrine centers on the Second Coming of Christ.
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, b. Pittsburgh, Pa. There he predicted (1872) the second coming of Christ and the millennium. In 1878 he organized his followers as an independent church. His teachings were spread through the Watch Tower, which Russell began to publish in 1879. In 1909 he moved his headquarters to the Brooklyn Tabernacle, New York City. Russell was involved in scandals, which somewhat tarnished his reputation, but his sect, nonetheless, flourished. His writings are contained in a series of books under the title Millennial Dawn (6 vol., 1886–1904).

Russell, Charles Taze

(1852–1916) religious leader; born in Pittsburgh, Pa. Raised a Congregationalist, he became a traveling preacher advocating a doctrine of his own devising, and founded the International Bible Student's Association in 1872. Known as Pastor Russell though he was never ordained, he prophesied a long period of worldwide strife followed by the advent of the kingdom of Christ on earth. He founded the the Watchtower periodical in 1879. The sect he established changed its name to Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931.