Mahatma Gandhi

1869–1948 · Indian (Porbandar, Gujarat) · British Raj / Indian Independence

Known for: Liberated India through nonviolent resistance and became the 20th century's most influential moral leader — while also being deeply weird about sex

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi led India's independence movement against British colonial rule through satyagraha — nonviolent civil disobedience — inspiring civil rights movements worldwide. A British-trained lawyer who first developed his methods fighting racial injustice in South Africa, he returned to India in 1915 and spent three decades leading marches, fasts, and boycotts that eventually made British rule untenable.

He was assassinated in 1948 by a Hindu nationalist who believed he was too accommodating to Muslims. His philosophy of ahimsa (non-harm) and his example of moral authority through personal sacrifice influenced Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and countless others. He was also a deeply flawed human — his views on race, caste, and gender evolved dramatically over his life, and his personal practices were sometimes bizarre.

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