18 July 1918 -a remarkable day on planet earth as this marks the birthdate of a savior, a king, a hero a humanitarian and a soul that will always be a part of world history, Mr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
Born Rolihlahla Mandela, on his first day of school he had been given the name Nelson by his then teacher Miss Mdingane as this was a common practice amongst Africans in those days due to the British Bias in education which and Mandela explained he never understood.
He was born in the village of Mvezo in Umtata which was then part of the Cape province and later studied law in the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand.
In 1944, he joined ANC (African National Congress) and he co-founded ANCYL (African National Congress Youth League).
He became extremely involved and active after the Afrikaner-dominated National Party won the election in 1948. They, after coming to power, formally introduced the policy of “apartheid”.
He spent 27 years in prison for trying to overthrow the pro-apartheid government. After he left prison, he worked to achieve human rights and a better future for everyone in South Africa.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize In 1993 in addition to over 250 other awards under his belt.
He became one of South Africa’s first black lawyers, and later gaining the throne as the first black President of South Africa, who held a rein from 1994-1999 during which he not only transformed South Africa but the world.
Nelson Mandela has a species of spider and a prehistoric woodpecker (Australopicus nelsonmandelai) named after him.
He married thrice in his lifetime and leaves behind 6 children.
5 December 2013 -Nelson Mandela passed away at the age of 95 at his home in Johannesburg.
