Major events in the life of Nelson Mandela
FILE - In this Wednesday, July 18, 2012 file photo, former South African President Nelson Mandela as he celebrates his 94th birthday with family in Qunu, South Africa. It was reported on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013 that the family of ailing former South African President Nelson Mandela has told the South African Broadcasting Corporation in an interview that the liberation struggle icon is not "doing well" but is continuing to put up a courageous fight from his "deathbed." (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam, File)
In this Feb. 13, 1990 file photo, Nelson Mandela and Winnie Mandela give black power salutes as they enter Soccer City stadium in the Soweto township of Johannesburg, South Africa, shortly after his release from 27 years in prison.
In this Feb. 13, 1990, file photo, African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela gives the black power salute to 120,000 ANC supporters packing Soccer City stadium in the Soweto township of Johannesburg, South Africa, shortly after his release from 27 years in prison.
In this Dec. 1, 1986 file photo, Winnie Mandela, wife of jailed African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, raises a clenched fist after appearing at a magistrate's court in Johannesburg, South Africa, a day after she was held by police in Soweto for defying an order banning her presence there.
In this image from live TV, President of South Africa Jacob Zuma announces the death of former South African President Nelson Mandela, to the media Thursday Dec. 5, 2013, from a podium in Pretoria, South Africa.
in this Feb. 13, 1990 file photo, African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, flanked by his wife, Winnie, and Walter Sisulu appears before the fully-packed Soccer City Stadium in Soweto, South Africa, where he made his first address in his hometown since his release from prison.
U.S. President Barack Obama peers out from Section B, prison cell No. 5, on Robben Island, South Africa, Sunday, June 30, 2013. This was former South African president Nelson Mandela's cell, where he spent 18-years of his 27-year prison term on the island locked up by the former apartheid government.
In this April 27, 1994, file photo, a long line of people wait outside the polling station in the black township of Soweto, in the southwest suburbs of Johannesburg, to vote in South Africa's first all-race elections.
July 18, 1918 — Born to Hendry Mphakanyiswa, a Thembu chief, and Nosekeni Qunu in the Umtata district of the Transkei, at a time when virtually all of Africa was under European colonial rule.
1940 — Expelled from University of Fort Hare, a leading institution for blacks, for role in a student strike.
1942 — Joins African National Congress, South Africa’s main campaigner for black equality.
1943 — Receives BA from Fort Hare after completing correspondence courses through University of South Africa.
June 4, 1948 — National Party, dominated by white Dutch-descended Afrikaners, is elected to power and begins installing apartheid, a system of complete racial segregation. It will rule without interruption for 46 years.
1952 — Mandela leads the Defiance Campaign, encouraging people to break racial separation laws. Convicted under Suppression of Communism Act, banned from attending gatherings and leaving Johannesburg. Passes exam to qualify as an attorney and, with Tambo, forms the first black law partnership in the country.
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1958 — Marries social worker Winnie Nomzamo Madikizela after divorcing Evelyn Mase, his first wife.
1961 — Helps establish ANC guerrilla wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, or Spear of the Nation.
April 20, 1964 — At a time when many African colonies have become independent and Mandela is on trial for sabotage, he declares from the dock that he is "prepared to die" for a democratic South Africa.
June 12, 1964 — Mandela and six others are sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to notorious Robben Island to serve their sentences.
1973 — Refuses a government offer of release on condition he agrees to a kind of exile in his native Transkei.
Feb. 10, 1985 — Another release offer, on condition he renounce violence. In fiery refusal, read by his daughter Zindzi at a rally, Mandela says burden is on the government to renounce violence, end apartheid and negotiate.
1985 — While in hospital for prostate surgery he is visited by Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee, the beginning of a political and diplomatic process that will lead on Dec. 9, 1988, to his transfer to better prison conditions on the mainland, north of Cape Town.
July 5, 1989 — Meets President P.W. Botha.
Dec. 13, 1989 — Meets Botha’s successor, F.W. de Klerk.
Feb. 2, 1990 — At the opening of Parliament, de Klerk announces the legalization of all political organizations including the African National Congress.
Feb. 10, 1990 — De Klerk announces Mandela will be released the next day.
Feb. 11, 1990 — Mandela walks out of prison, hand in hand with wife Winnie, to cheering crowds.
Oct. 15, 1993 — Mandela and de Klerk share Nobel Peace Prize.
May 10, 1994 — Mandela inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president after ANC wins South Africa’s first all-race election.
March 19, 1996 — Mandela granted a divorce from Winnie.
July 18, 1998 — Mandela weds former Mozambican first lady Graca Machel on his 80th birthday.
June 16, 1999 — Mandela retires after one term, a rarity among African presidents, but continues to be active in causes promoting world peace, supporting children and fighting AIDS.
Jan. 30, 2003 — In speech, calls U.S. President George W. Bush arrogant and shortsighted for ignoring the U.N. on Iraq.
June 1, 2004 — Announces retirement from public life.
July 11, 2010 — Mandela waves to the crowd at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg as South Africa bids farewell to the 2010 soccer World Cup. Driven in a small golf cart and seated alongside wife, Graca Machel, the smiling, warmly dressed Mandela is welcomed by a thunderous mix of vuvuzelas and roars from the crowd.
June 21, 2011 — Mandela meets at his home with Michelle Obama, her two daughters and other Obama relatives.
December 2012 — Mandela spends nearly three weeks in a hospital, where he is treated for a lung infection and has a procedure to remove gallstones.
April 29, 2013 — State television broadcasts footage of a visit by President Jacob Zuma and other ANC leaders to Mandela at his Johannesburg home. Zuma said at the time that Mandela was in good shape, but the footage – the first public images of Mandela in nearly a year – showed him silent and unresponsive, even when Zuma tried to hold his hand.
June 8, 2013 — The government says Mandela is admitted to a hospital with a recurring lung infection. Officials describe his condition as serious but stable.
December 5, 2013 — Mandela dies at age 95.
