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.
Jehovah's Witnesses splinter groups
In 2007, Jehovah's Witness apologist and author Greg G. Stafford, author of "Jehovah's Witnesses Defended" (Elihu Books), formally disassociated from the group, while insisting on describing himself and his followers as "Jehovah's Witnesses". Stafford has published information about Jehovah's Witnesses, defending many of their distinctive, central beliefs, such as nontrinitarianism. In 2007, Stafford introduced the term "Christian Witnesses of Jah" to describe individuals who believe many of the same things as Jehovah's Witnesses, but who may not embrace the organization or all of its theological teachings.