Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916), or “Pastor” Russell, was the original founder of what is now known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. A charismatic speaker and ardent minister, Russell began publishing Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence (still published today as The Watchtower) in 1879. He cofounded Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society in 1884. He published a widely popular six-volume series, Studies in the Scriptures, from 1886 to 1904, and wrote many other works over his lifetime. His teachings were originally referred to variously as the Bible Student Movement, Russellism, Millennial Dawnism, and later, Rutherfordism. The Bible Student Movement developed from his teachings and ministry, which eventually led to the establishment of the Jehovah’s Witnesses under Joseph Franklin Rutherford in the 1930s. A controversial figure who started a controversial movement, Russell had a profound impact on North American church history.