The group emerged from the Bible Student movement founded in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell, who also co-founded Zion 's Watch Tower Tract Society in 1881 to organize and print the movement 's publications. A leadership dispute after Russell 's death resulted in several groups breaking away, with Joseph Franklin Rutherford retaining control of the Watch Tower Society and its properties. Rutherford made significant organizational and doctrinal changes, including adoption of the name Jehovah 's witnesses in 1931 to distinguish them from other Bible Student groups and symbolize a break with the legacy of Russell 's traditions.
when did jehovah's witnesses get their name
1931