Here is the entry for "Charles Taze Russell in the Cambridge Encyclopedia
"Russell, Charles Taze, known as Pastor Russell (1852-1916) Religious leader, the founder of what is commonly called the Bible Student Movement, born in Pittsburgh, PA. As a Congregationalist, he struggled with the concept of eternal torment, his subsequent Bible Studies leading him to conclude that the Biblical hell is oblivion, that the Millennium began in 1874, and that a period of social and political upheaval would lead to a peaceable kingdom on Earth. After his death, many followers abandoned his Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (1879), which under the leadership of Joseph Rutherford moved in other directions and ultimately became known as Jehovah's Witnesses (1931)." - The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia, Second Edition, 1998
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That's my story and I'm sticking to it! . http://www.food4jws.org/testimonies/rr144.htm