Joseph Franklin Rutherford Towers [1] [2] , known as “Judge Rutherford”. [one]
| Joseph Franklin Rutherford | |
|---|---|
| Joseph Franklin Rutherford | |
 | |
| Date of Birth | November 8, 1869 |
| Place of Birth | Versailles , Missouri , USA |
| Date of death | January 8, 1942 (72 years old) |
| A place of death | San Diego , California , USA |
| Citizenship |  USA |
| Occupation | president of the Watchtower Society |
| Autograph | |
Biography
Joseph Rutherford was born into a Baptist family living on a farm in Morgan County (Missouri). When he was 16 years old, his father agreed with his decision to go to study, provided that Joseph would live at his own expense and pay for the labor of the employee who would be hired instead. Joseph borrowed money from a friend. He managed to simultaneously study in college and study law.
After graduating, Rutherford studied with Judge Edwards for two years. By the age of 20, he had become an official court clerk in the courts of the 14th Missouri District. On May 5, 1892, he received official right to practice law in Missouri. Rutherford later worked for four years as a prosecutor in Bunville , Missouri. He then served from time to time as a special judge in Missouri's 8th Judicial Circuit. That is why he became known as Judge Rutherford.
During his studies, Rutherford earned money by selling encyclopedias, going home with them. This activity was not easy: many rudely refused. Once, while visiting farms, he fell into a stream of ice water and nearly died. Rutherford firmly decided that when he became a lawyer and someone came to his office to offer books, he would definitely buy it. Rutherford kept his word: at the beginning of 1894 , he bought three volumes of The Millennium Dawn from two booksellers who came to his office. A few weeks later the books were read, and Rutherford immediately wrote a letter to the Watchtower Society, which said: “My dear wife and I read these books with great interest and we believe that they were sent to us from above. They are a great blessing to us. ” In 1906, Joseph Rutherford was baptized and a year later became legal adviser to the Watch Tower Society. On January 6, 1917, Rutherford was elected president of the Watchtower Society, a legal entity in one of the areas of Bible Students who took the name Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931 .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Chryssides, 2012 , p. 299.
- ↑ Porublev N.V. “Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Light of the History and Teaching of the Bible”
Literature
- Chryssides, George D. Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements . - Rowman & Littlefield, 2012 .-- P. 299. - 415 p.