Shaheed Bhagat Singh was born in 1907 in what is now Pakistan but was then part of India. He came from a family with a history of revolutionary activity against British rule. Bhagat Singh received some schooling but left formal education to join the Indian independence movement. He became involved with revolutionary organizations that worked toward overthrowing British colonial rule through acts of violence and civil disobedience. Bhagat Singh lived a short life as a revolutionary but made a big impact before being hanged by the British at age 23 for the killing of a police officer.