Frederick William Franz, 99, president of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society and member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, died of a heart attack in December at the New York headquarters of the sect.

Mr Franz became the 4th president of the organization in 1977 following the death of Nathan H Knorr.

Mr Franz, a bachelor, Bible interpreter, writer and public speaker knew nine languages including an acquaintance with the Biblical languages of Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek. He was the main translator of the New World Translation of the Bible completed in 1961.

Franz regularly travelled worldwide to address large audiences of the JW sect. He also spoke at the world's largest religious convention in 1958, New York, where 1/4 million people attended.

Born in Covington (Kentucky, USA) in 1893 Frederick Franz and family moved to nearby Cincinnati where he taught Sunday school in the Presbyterian Church and planned to become a minister.

He commenced at the University of Cincinnati in 1911 and studied Greek and Latin. His brother sent him a booklet of the International Bible Students (= Russellites from whom JWs are derived). This prompted Franz to leave University in 1914 without completing his degree and become a colporteur for the cult.

JWs believe Franz was elected a Rhodes Scholar but turned it down. At a court trial in Scotland in 1954 he stated: "I was offered a Cecil Rhodes Scholarship, I took an examination for that in the University of Ohio…" (Douglas Walsh Trial Transcript p. 178)

The Rhodes Scholarship Trust deny that Franz was "elected" but admit that he passed an exam which made him a candidate for the Scholarship. In his biography Franz argued: "my professor in Greek at the university, Dr. Joseph Harry, informed me that I had been chosen to receive it." At that stage Franz allegedly wrote a letter advising of his loss of interest in the Scholarship.

A letter dated January 13, 1993, from the American Secretary of The Rhodes Scholarship Trust, to one Frank Russo stated:
 

In the late 1920s and 1930s Franz often assisted "Judge" Rutherford, then leader of the cult, with research when doctrines needed changing. A letter in the July 1 1929 Watchtower, for example, helped debunk the doctrine that the Great Pyramid was the "Bible in stone" and "inspired".

In 1945 Franz became the vice president and chief theologian of the Organization which then entered its greatest period of growth. New training programs intended to turn JWs into "ministers" helped boost expansion to 20% in some years.

This prepared for the doctrine (in the Sabbath chapter of Franz’s 1946 book Let God be True) that Armageddon followed by a "World Society" composed entirely of JWs would come about within the 20th century. Around 1950 Franz also linked the final generation of this world to 1914. The previous interpretations made the last generation start in 1799 and then 1878.

Growth rates slowed in the 1960s leading Franz to spur things on by implying Armageddon and "Peace on Earth" could occur in the mid 1970s. When he became president of the Organization in 1977 widespread disappointment with this "false prophecy" led to mass defections in many countries, the opening of hundreds of anti JW ministries, and to numerous protest demonstrations at JW conventions and even at their headquarters! Some groups distributed libellous pamphlets comparing Franz to a murderer (because of his anti blood transfusion doctrine), or a "wizard" or even to Adolf Hitler!

A policy of shunning all critics, comparing them to "Satan" and their writings to vomit, plus constant emphasis on Armageddon being "immediately ahead" led to stabilization in the early 1980s and then renewed steady recruitment.

Mr Franz’s last visit to Australia occurred in 1984. He spoke to large crowds in major cities and visited the newly built Convention Halls of the sect.

In his final year of life Mr Franz was blind and deaf and stayed in the infirmary at the New York world headquarters.