Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Warwick, New York. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer, and disseminate doctrines for the group and is often referred to by members of the denomination simply as "the Society". It is the parent organization of a number of Watch Tower subsidiaries, including the Watchtower Society of New York and the International Bible Students Association. The number of voting shareholders of the corporation is limited to between 300 and 500 "mature, active and faithful" male Jehovah's Witnesses. About 5,800 Jehovah's Witnesses provide voluntary unpaid labor, as members of a religious order, in three large Watch Tower Society facilities in New York. Nearly 15,000 other members of the order work at the Watch Tower Society's other facilities worldwide.

The organization was formed in 1881 as ''Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society'' for the purpose of distributing religious tracts. The society was incorporated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 15, 1884. In 1896, the society was renamed ''Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society''. Following a leadership dispute in the Bible Student movement, the society remained associated with the branch of the movement that became known as Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1955, the corporation was renamed ''Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania''. In 1976, all activities of the Watch Tower Society were brought under the supervision of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. Provided by Wikipedia