Was Russell the Founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses?

It has become the custom for writers to state that Russell was the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses organization. Thus, many often attribute the teachings of that organization to Russell, although what Russell taught may or may not be the same as what the JWs teach. In many cases, Brother Russell taught almost the very opposite of what the JW leadership teaches on many things.

In reality, Russell was never a member of the JW organization, and he never founded such an organization.

Russell did not believe in such an organization, and he certainly did not believe in a human centralized authority of such an organization. For proof of Russell's beliefs concerning "organization," see links to some of  our research concerning:

Russell, Organization, and Authority.

At least one apparently claims that we are in error in claiming that Russell was never a member of the JW organization and that Russell was not the founder of such an organization.

The historical facts, however, tell us otherwise:  Russell actively preached against the formation of such an authoritarian organization until he died in 1916. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in his days was not a ruling organization, but what some have called "a service organization." Russell, by means of his last will, as well as other written instructions, sought to keep the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society from becoming what it did become at hands of Joseph Rutherford.

After Russell died, Joseph Rutherford, by means of deceit and legal trickery, gained control of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and used that legal entity to form his new organization with its new teachings. He did this by rejecting the core teachings of Russell and the Bible Students. Indeed, by 1928, the Bible Students, as represented by the vast majority (more than 75%), had rejected Rutherford's new "Jehovah's visible organization" dogma. In the 1930s, Rutherford named his new organization "Jehovah's Witnesses" in order to distinguish his organization from the Bible Students who refused to go along with his new teachings.

For links to more information concerning:

Russell and the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Related to this, it is often also falsely claimed that Russell was a member of the Freemasons' organization. Regarding this false claim, see the following:
Russell and the Freemasons