Dear Anonymous,
Here is my understanding...however if this is for a homework assignment, please just use it as a starting place. This is largely from memory and would need more thorough documentation.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), even as a child growing up in India, took a strong interest in the classics. He learned the ancient Sanskrit concept of Ahimsa Paramo Dharma, non-harmfulness as a supreme duty. This was borne out further in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist influences.
http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Ahimsa_Paramo_Dharma
When he traveled to the West he encountered Theosophical philosophy, along with Thoreau and Tolstoy; the concept of civil disobedience to unjust laws. I believe he even corresponded with Tolstoy for a while, so that would have been one important influence.
He then developed the practical aspects of his Satyagraha (perhaps translated as "the strength in truth") in non-violent protests in South Africa, and then applied all this in India.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003987/bio
This photo is from the 1920's.
