He was born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, in an India that was still under British colonial rule. During a life dedicated to the non-violent pursuit of freedom, he became known as Mahatma, meaning Great Soul.
When Gandhi was killed, 66 years ago on Thursday, India had just won its independence and Gandhi had become a civil rights icon. Gandhi's assassin was a Hindu nationalist who was angered by Mahatma's vision of an open, pluralistic country.
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On the anniversary of his death, The WorldPost looks at 10 photos that illustrate the poise, humility and noble defiance that made Gandhi an icon around the globe.
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Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi at a spinning wheel during a 'Charlea' demonstration in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, on 9 June 1925. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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Mahatma Gandhi eating for the first time after his release from prison in India in 1930. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
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Mahatma Gandhi reading his correspondence whilst living in seclusion after being released from prison, on 20 May 1924. (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
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Mahatma Gandhi leading his followers on the famous salt march to break the English Salt Laws, on 27 March 1930. (NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
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Mahatma Gandhi on the steps of 10 Downing Street, 26 September 1931. Gandhi travelled to Britain in 1931 in order to attend the Second Round Table conference in London. Whilst in London, he visited the British Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, at his residence in 10 Downing Street. (Daily Herald Archive/SSPL/Getty Images)
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Mahatma Gandhi is greeted by a crowd of female textile workers during a visit to Darwen, Lancashire, UK in 1931. (Keystone/Getty Images)
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Mahatma Gandhi seen in the United Kingdom, in December 1932. (Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty Images)
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Mahatma Gandhi at the station at Marseille in France, in 1934. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
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Mahatma Gandhi receives a donation in a train compartment in 1940. (Dinodia Photos/Getty Images)
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Jawaharlal Nehru (later India's first Prime Minister) and Mahatma Gandhi in conversation at a session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in Bombay, 8 August 1942. It was at this session that the Quit India Resolution was passed, calling for India's independence from British rule. (Archive Photos/Getty Images)