History of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses originated as a branch of the Bible Student movement, which developed in the United States in the 1870s among followers of Christian Restorationist minister Charles Taze Russell. Bible Student missionaries were sent to England in 1881 and the first overseas branch was opened in London in 1900. The group took on the name International Bible Students Association and by 1914 it was also active in Canada, Germany, Australia and other countries. The movement split into several rival organizations after Russell's death in 1916, with one—led by Russell's successor, Joseph "Judge" Rutherford—retaining control of both his magazine, "The Watch Tower", and his legal and publishing corporation, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.
Catechumen
Jehovah's Witnesses require a catechumenate of adherents prior to baptism by means of a study program led by a baptized minister, using a Watch Tower Society textbook that teaches basic Witness doctrines. Students initially progress to become an "unbaptized publisher" of the faith, preaching while continuing further biblical instruction—akin to a catechumen, although the term is not specifically used. After demonstrating sufficient comprehension and application of Jehovah's Witnesses' interpretations of the Bible, the student qualifies to be baptized as a Jehovah's Witness.