His followers. I have been raised Lutheran and I have learned that Martin Luther's original intentions were not at all to break with the Catholic church, he in fact encouraged his followers not to break from the church, he just wanted to change the corruptness of it and focus more on The Bible. The way I understand it to be is that Martin Luther's followers (not Martin Luther, it was after his death) broke from the Catholic church because they recognized the strength of the church itself and were insulted by the fact that the Catholic church excommunicated Luther.
The answer lies within the very question you ask. Martin Luther.
Martin Luther.
Martin Luther, in the 1500s
Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church was created in 1891.
Danske Evangelist Lutheran Kirke was created in 1875.
Cordelia Lutheran Church was created in 1883.
Church of the Lutheran Confession was created in 1960.
Lutheran Church in America was created in 1962.
American Lutheran Church was created in 1960.
Taiwan Lutheran Church was created in 1954.
Norway Lutheran Church was created in 1843.
Gethsemane Lutheran Church was created in 1882.
Lutheran Orthodox Church was created in 2004.
Lutheran Church of China was created in 1920.
Lutheran Free Church was created in 1897.