Marshall Herff Applewhite, Jr. (May 17, 1931 – March 1997), also known as "Bo" and "Do", among other names, was an American cult leader who founded what became known as the Heaven's Gate religious group and organized their mass suicide in 1997. It was the largest mass suicide to occur in the United States, claiming the lives of thirty-nine people.A native of Texas, Applewhite attended several universities and, as a young man, served in the United States Army.