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Frederick Franz

Frederick William Franz (September 12, 1893 – December 22, 1992) served as President of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, the legal entity used to direct the work of Jehovah's Witnesses). He had previously served as Vice President of the same corporation from 1945 until 1977 and as a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses before replacing Nathan H. Knorr as president in 1977.

Biography

Franz was born in Covington, Kentucky, and graduated from high school in 1911. He attended the University of Cincinnati where he studied Biblical Greek,^[1] having already decided that he wanted to be a Presbyterian preacher. After reading some of the literature of Charles Taze Russell, he became interested in the Bible Students. He was baptized as a Bible Student on 30 November 1913, and left the University in May 1914. Franz immediately began evangelizing full time as a pioneer.

In 1926, he joined the editorial staff as a Bible researcher and writer for the Society’s publications. Franz is generally (although never officially) acknowledged to have been a leading figure in the preparation of the Witnesses' New World Translation of the Bible, which was prepared anonymously like most Watchtower publications. He was the oldest member to lead the organization, and one of the oldest ever to be a leading figure in any religion.

Franz died in Brooklyn, New York in 1992 at the age of 99 and was succeeded by Milton G. Henschel. The New York Times of December 24, 1992 described him as "a religious Leader....[of] a Christian denomination" and "a biblical scholar." The article claimed he was "versed in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek."

Franz's nephew and fellow Governing Body member Raymond Franz was expelled and subsequently disfellowshipped in 1980 during F.W. Franz's presidency.^[2]

Achievements and Education

Franz is generally acknowledged as the leading translator in the preparation of the New World Translation.^[3][4] Franz was also the Editor of the New World Translation published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.^[5]

Frederick Franz attended the University of Cincinnati where he was an honor student.^[6] His formal training concentrated on Latin and classical Greek.^[7][8] According to A. H. Macmillan, in addition to his native tongue of English, Frederick Franz was fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and German, conversant in French, and a scholar of Hebrew, Greek, Syriac and Latin, although Franz's school transcripts do not indicate that he studied anything beyond basic, or beginner Greek.^[9]

References