Charles Taze Russell

Macmillan:

Confused by what was perceived to be an error in calculation Russell re-examined the doctrine to see if he could determine whether it had biblical origins or was simply Christian tradition. In 1870 at age eighteen he attended a presentation by Adventist minister Jonas Wendell. A government expert investigated the "Miracle Wheat" and said it "was low in the Government tests".

As many as three-quarters of the approximately 50000 Bible Students who had been associating in 1917 had left by 1931 resulting 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 Taze Russell (February 16 1852 – October 31 1916) or Pastor Russell was a prominent early 20th century Christian restorationist minister from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA and founder of what is now known as the Bible Student movement from which Jehovah's Witnesses and numerous independent Bible Student groups emerged after his death.