Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

A Time Line Of Mr. Mandela's Life

• 1918 - Born in a village in Umtata, Cape Province (July 18)
• 1925 - Enrolls at Methodist primary school near Qunu
• 1934 - Goes through a Thembu circumscision called the Ulwaluko Circumcision
• 1937 - Attends the Wesleyan College at Fort Beaufort
• 1939 - Secures admission to the University College of Fort Hare
• 1940 - Got expelled from school
• 1941 - Takes up a security officer position in a bid to avoid an arranged marriage
• 1942 - Graduates with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Africa
• 1942 - Participates in meetings of the African National Congress (ANC)
• 1943 - Earns a BA from Fort Hare and proceeds to study law at Wits University
• 1944 - Marries Evelyn Ntoko Mase; the couple went on to have four children – Thembekile (1945); Makaziwe (1947); Makgatho (1950); Makaziwe (1954)
• 1948 - The ANC elects him as the national secretary of the Youth League
• 1952 - Elected Transvaal ANC President
• 1952 - Charged under the Suppression of Communism Act and is sentenced to nine months in prison
• 1952 - Establishes a law firm called Oliver Tambo – the first black law firm in the country
• 1956 - Briefly put behind bars and charged with treason
• 1958 - Marries Nomzamo Winnie Madikizela; the marriage produces two children – Zenani (1959) and Zindzi (1960)
• 1960 - Taken aback by the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960; the authorities imprison him along with several members of the ANC
• 1961 - Establishes the underground militant group known as the Umkhonto weSizwe (Spear of the Nation
• 1962 - Goes into exile outside South Africa and returns with ample military training and experience
• 1962 - Slapped with a five-year prison sentence
• 1963 - Court proceedings begin in what became known as the Rivonia Trial
• 1964 - Convicted of treason and sentenced to life in prison (June 12)
• 1982 - Authorities move Nelson Mandela and a number of political prisoners to the Pollsmoor Prison
• 1985 - Turns down the apartheid government’s conditional offer which requires him to reject his anti-segregation struggles
• 1990 - The ban on the ANC is lifted
• 1990 - After 27 years, he is released from prison
• 1990 - Gets elected Deputy President of the ANC
• 1993 - Along with President FW de Klerk, Nelson Mandela receives the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize
• April 27,1994 - Casts his first ever vote in his life
• May 9,1994 - The South African Parliament elects him president of the nation
• May 10,1990 - Sworn into office as the President of South Africa – the country’s first black president
• December 14,1990 - Releases “Long Walk to Freedom”, an autobiography that went on to make huge waves across the world
• 1995 - Sets up the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund
• 1996 - Marriage to Winnie Mandela ends in a divorce
• 1998 - Gets married to Graça Machel, a former Mozambican politician and widow of former president of Mozambique Samora Machel
• 1999 - Opts not to seek re-election; instead he devotes his time to his foundation – the Nelson Mandela Foundation
• 2001 - Doctors diagnose him with prostate cancer
• 2003 - Sets up the Mandela Rhodes Foundation
• 2004 - Removes himself from public life to focus on his family
• 2009 - Celebrates his 90th birthday
• 2010 - In the lead up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Africa, Mandela participates in a FIFA World Cup event, where he is presented with the trophy
• June 11,2010 - Loses his great-granddaughter Zenani in a car crash
• October 12,2010 - Releases his second book titled “Conversations with Myself”
• 2011 - Then First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama and her children pay a visit to Mandela
• December,2012 - Spends three weeks in hospital
• March,2013 - Moves in and out of hospital on two occasions
• July 18,2013 - Attains the age of 95
• December 5,2013 - Dies at his Johannesburg home; respiratory complications were the cause death