Mahatma Gandhi was born in 1869 in India and helped lead India's independence movement from British rule through nonviolent civil disobedience. He spent many years in South Africa fighting for civil rights and developed his philosophy of satyagraha, resisting tyranny through mass nonviolent civil disobedience. Upon returning to India in 1915, he organized nationwide non-cooperation campaigns against the British and helped India achieve independence in 1947. His principles of nonviolent protest inspired civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.