Mahatma Gandhi

Born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in Porbandar, a coastal town in Gujarat, India. His father is the dewan (chief minister) of Porbandar. A shy, ordinary child. Married at 13 in an arranged ceremony.

Sails to South Africa to represent an Indian merchant in a lawsuit. He plans to stay one year. He stays 21. On a train from Durban to Pretoria, a white passenger objects to sharing a first-class compartment with him. Gandhi, holding a valid first-class ticket, refuses to move. He's thrown off the train at Pietermaritzburg station. He spends the night shivering in the waiting room. He later calls this the most creative experience of his life.

Coins the term "Satyagraha" (truth-force) to describe his method of nonviolent resistance in South Africa. He deliberately rejects the English term "passive resistance" because there is nothing passive about it.

Adopts the loincloth as his only garment. He has been wearing Western suits and then Indian formal dress. The switch is deliberate. He wants to dress like the poorest Indian. The image becomes iconic. Churchill calls him "a seditious fakir, striding half-naked." Gandhi considers it a compliment.

Begins the Salt March from Sabarmati Ashram to the coastal village of Dandi, 240 miles away. The British have a monopoly on salt. Making your own is illegal. Gandhi walks for 24 days. Thousands join him along the route. On April 6, he bends down and picks up a lump of natural salt from the mud. "With this," he says, "I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire."

Begins a fast unto death in Yerwada Jail to protest the British proposal for separate electorates for untouchables. He believes it will divide Hindu society permanently. B.R. Ambedkar, the leader of the untouchable community, is furious. He sees separate electorates as protection. They reach a compromise. Gandhi breaks his fast after six days.

Launches the Quit India movement, demanding immediate British withdrawal. He is arrested the next day. The British imprison him at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune. His wife Kasturba and his secretary Mahadev Desai both die there during his captivity. He is released in 1944 due to failing health.

India gains independence. Gandhi doesn't celebrate. He is in Calcutta, trying to stop Hindu-Muslim riots. The partition of British India into India and Pakistan triggers the largest mass migration in history. Between 10 and 20 million people cross the new borders. Up to two million die in the violence.

Shot three times at close range by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, while walking to an evening prayer meeting in New Delhi. He is 78. Godse believes Gandhi has been too sympathetic to Muslims and Pakistan. Gandhi's last words are disputed. The traditional account says he called out "He Ram" (Oh God). He dies within minutes.

The United Nations General Assembly declares October 2 (Gandhi's birthday) the International Day of Non-Violence. His face appears on every denomination of Indian currency. He never held public office.