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KS2 History learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.

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What makes a leader great, and when exactly does the transformation take place? In this lesson students and teachers can follow the evolution of Nelson Mandela in archival articles from The New York Times, from his early years as a jailed dissident in apartheid South Africa to his death last week at the age of 95.

You may wish to begin by reading Mr. Mandela's obituary or this interactive timeline. Then explore each era from Nelson Mandela's life below, reading the original news articles filed by Times reporters in South Africa. Take notes on your impressions of Mr. Mandela during different time periods or events, and consider the ways in which early articles differ from those written near the end of his life. Evaluate crucial decisions and decide which chapters of his life served as critical turning points. Or take on the role of historian, making your own case for which perspectives represent the true Mandela. For additional teaching ideas for how to use the resources included below, go to the bottom of this post.
1950s and '60s: Rebel in the Shadows
"I do not, however, deny that I planned sabotage," Mr. Mandela said at the so-called Rivonia Trial in 1964. "I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness, nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation and oppression of my people by the whites."

In 1964, Mr. Mandela, a 46-year-old lawyer, had already been fighting for more than two decades against the system of race-based laws that would come to be known as apartheid. Speaking for more than four hours at his trial on charges of sabotage and attempted overthrow of the government, he admitted his guilt under laws he declared to be immoral. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Read the 1964 coverage of that trial, "Crisis in South Africa" (PDF), by the Times reporter Robert Conley, and a 1966 article by Joseph Lelyveld on daily life under apartheid, "Where 78% of the People are the 'Others'" (PDF). You may wish to do some further research on Mr. Mandela's early life and experiences as an anti-apartheid activist, or listen to this radio diary on events leading up to the Rivonia Trial. What prompted a talented man with bright prospects and a commitment to nonviolence to risk everything by trying to bring down his country's government? Using evidence and quotations from the articles you have read, make the case to explain how and why Mr. Mandela became a rebel in South Africa.
1970s and '80s: Prisoner
'"He feels he has been on the right track all along," said Makgatho Mandela, a son of Nelson Mandela. "His whole purpose in life is the struggle for a free, democratic united South Africa. So he does not regret anything.'"

By the late 1970s, Nelson Mandela had already passed his 60th birthday in prison (PDF). As the Times reporter John F. Burns wrote in the article "Soweto's Blacks No Longer Accept their 'Uncle Toms'" (PDF), some younger South Africans were suggesting that he and other leaders from the 1960s were no longer relevant. But family members wrote of his struggle (PDF) and helped him remain connected to the outside world. And many people in South Africa and elsewhere said they continued to feel inspired by his imprisonment to fight against the apartheid system.

By the 1980s, the anti-apartheid movement was drawing increasing international attention. Artists designed posters to raise support for sanctions against the apartheid government, athletes were pressured to avoid the country, and pop stars wrote songs about Mr. Mandela, occasionally facing arrest for performing them in the country.

What was the effect of Mr. Mandela's imprisonment on the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa? Are there ways in which he was able to keep leading the movement from behind bars, and do you think the country's history might have been different if he had avoided prison? Explain how his years behind bars may have contributed to his ultimate success and the largely peaceful resolution of apartheid.
Early 1990s: Peacemaker
"My friends, comrades and fellow South Africans, I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands."

It was a moment that many people thought would never come. On Feb. 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison a free man. Less than a year later, the government led by F.W. de Klerk, the white president of South Africa, was taking steps to dismantle apartheid. Mr. Mandela and Mr. de Klerk, who would jointly win the Nobel Peace Prize, showed the world that it was possible for bitter enemies to set aside their differences and compromise for the common good. But it was far from easy.

How did Mr. Mandela and Mr. de Klerk manage to short-circuit a conflict between whites and blacks that many feared would end in civil war? And which groups in South Africa did they need to placate in order to resolve the national conflict over apartheid? Read the article "Mandela to Go Free Today" and a transcript of Mr. de Klerk's news conference. Then watch a video in which Mr. Burns, the Times reporter, describes the tensions at Mr. Mandela's first news conference as a free man, and read a transcript of Mr. Mandela's first speech to the nation. Write a chart or analysis in which you describe how each man did his part to move their nation beyond conflict.
1990s and 2000s: The Challenge of Governing
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion," Mr. Mandela wrote in his 1994 autobiography. "People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."

From the moment he was released from prison, Nelson Mandela was under pressure to end the violence - not only between whites and blacks, but also between rival black groups in South Africa. But that was only the first task on his list after being elected the country's first black president in 1994. Mr. Mandela faced a mountain of high expectations to reduce poverty, increase public services and improve the quality of life for impoverished South Africans. He included whites and blacks in his government, and promised to pardon those accused of committing crimes during the apartheid years, provided that they testified before a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Some of his former enemies resisted the offer as others plotted revenge. But he won the hearts of many white South Africans by embracing the national rugby team, which had been widely viewed as a symbol of apartheid.

Read the coverage of Mr. Mandela's last State of the Nation speech in 1999 and list the achievements and failures of his single term as president of South Africa. Did Mr. Mandela seem to be as successful in running the country as he was at leading the resistance against apartheid?
Looking Back: A Man and His Country
"It is never my custom to use words lightly," Mr. Mandela said in 2000 at the 13th International AIDS Conference. "If 27 years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die."

In the years after his presidency, Mr. Mandela tried to step back from daily politics, but he found himself drawn into the debate over fighting AIDS in a country where many considered the subject taboo. The death of one of his sons from the disease in 2005 only increased Mr. Mandela's efforts, and he later said that he should have done more as president.

Since that time, Nelson Mandela's legacy has cast a long shadow over South Africa. Can the country and its leaders ever live up to the promise of their emergence from apartheid? Read the tributes pouring in from foreign leaders and Times readers, browse front pages from newspapers around the world and watch a video on reactions to his death by people in the sprawling Soweto township outside Johannesburg. Then consider more critical judgments in this news article, "For Mandela, Reverence, But Criticism, Too." Which tributes or criticisms seem off base, and which ones ring true compared to past news coverage of Mr. Mandela? How will Mr. Mandela be remembered by the "born free" generation of students in this video that never knew life under apartheid?
Going Further
Did sports help to set Mr. Mandela free and end apartheid? Read about his athletic background and how his support for the international boycott against sporting events in South Africa put pressure on the government to reform. Then do further research on the sports boycott and decide whether it was effective. "I wanted to make sure our people know how much I appreciated the sacrifices made by our athletes during the many years of the boycott," Mr. Mandela said in 1994. "I have no doubt I became president today sooner than I would have had they not made those sacrifices."

Did he write and talk his way to greatness? Few recent historical figures have proven to be as quotable as Nelson Mandela. Consider this collection of memorable speeches from career, marking favorites or taking notes on the ways in which his words evolved over the course of his public life. Then make the case for which speaks loudest: Nelson Mandela's words or his actions.

Was he a Communist? In an Op-Ed article, the columnist Bill Keller writes about revelations that Nelson Mandela may once have joined the Communist Party. Does it matter? Through the Cold War years, conservatives in the United States maintained that Mr. Mandela's African National Congress party was being manipulated by the Soviet Union. Does this seem persuasive, or do you support the view that Communists in South Africa helped maintain the multiracial character of the anti-apartheid movement?

Did Nelson Mandela help democracy to spread? John Dramani Mahama, the president of Ghana, was 5 years old when Mr. Mandela went to prison. He says Africans took note of the reconciliation-oriented course that South Africa followed after apartheid, and charted a similar path. Does the evidence support such a statement? Look for examples of Mr. Mandela's peacekeeping efforts in Africa, and decide whether his leadership made a difference on the continent.

Did he inspire others to fight injustice? It is not just South Africans who were moved to action by Nelson Mandela's example. In this 2010 Op-Ed feature, seven former political prisoners from around the world reflected on how Mr. Mandela's release from prison helped them to survive their own incarceration. What specific lessons did they learn, and how did they apply them in their own countries?

Additional Teaching Ideas

Teaching about Nelson Mandela's life may seem overwhelming, so we offer various ways teachers can use the many resources listed above.

Jigsaw Research: In a jigsaw, students work in separate small groups researching different parts of Mr. Mandela's life. For example, one group can research his early life, while another group researches his prison years. Then, new groups can be formed with one member from each research group, with individual students reporting back about what they learned in their original research groups. Alternatively, small groups can report back to the whole class or even assemble a museum-style classroom exhibition.

Gallery Walk: In this activity, the classroom becomes a gallery exhibit detailing the various parts of Mr. Mandela's life using photographs, speeches, articles, posters, and even videos and music. The "gallery" can be assembled by the teacher, or by students working in jigsaw research groups. You may want to post chart paper on the wall for each important stage in Mr. Mandela's life as well, so students can write their reactions to what they learned and read what their peers have to say. You can also give students a handout with questions to answer and discuss, including the questions embedded in the narrative above about Mr. Mandela's life.

WebQuest: The above overview of Mr. Mandela's life, linked to Times resources, can be used as a WebQuest, where students work in pairs or small groups to complete a task. Possible tasks include designing a memorial, writing a eulogy, creating a museum exhibit, assembling a slide show or composing historical diary entries.
Other Resources The New York Times Special Section | Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013 Mandela: An Audio History PBS Frontline | The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela The Nobel Peace Prize 1993 The Nelson Mandela Foundation | The Life and Times of Nelson Mandela
"Tree Shaker: The Story of Nelson Mandela" by Bill Keller

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From Rebel to Statesman: Teaching About the Life of Nelson Mandela

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In this lesson students and teachers can follow the evolution of Nelson Mandela in archival articles from The New York Times, from his early years as a jailed dissident in apartheid South Africa to his death last week at the age of 95.

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Nelson Mandela was not an easy man to sum up. Icon, reconciler, fighter, charmer ... The list is long and, perhaps necessarily so in a man of his stature, contradictory.

During the course of a long, tumultuous life, Nelson Mandela juggled many roles. It was that ability, as a leader, to transform and adapt to changing circumstances which may well hold the secret to his lasting achievements.

The abstract image of a solitary man, unjustly imprisoned for almost three decades, cut to the heart of South Africa's predicament

Here, then, are the four key roles that I would pick out of the pile. They were not all roles of his choosing, but they may go someway towards defining the legacy of one of the great leaders of the last century.

Icon

The world has come to know the smile, the stoop, the gravel voice and grey hair.

But for the 27 years he spent in jail, Nelson Mandela was a mysterious, abstract figure - his image and even his name unprintable inside apartheid South Africa.

The man was transmuted into an icon, a symbol of resistance whispered in the townships and revered around the world.

The African National Congress (ANC) overcame legitimate qualms to back the notion of a Mandela "brand".

"There were a lot of debates - I can remember asking why we're singling Nelson Mandela out. But the idea of an icon does work - perhaps unfortunately," remembers Ronnie Kasrils, a member of the ANC's armed wing.

As that icon, Mr Mandela played a vital role, not only in galvanising the struggle within South Africa, but perhaps more importantly in rallying support for international sanctions - among the more powerful weapons in the fight against apartheid.

Many factors, not least the end of the Cold War, led to the collapse of white minority rule, but the abstract image of a solitary, defiant man, unjustly imprisoned for almost three decades, cut to the heart of South Africa's predicament.

Reconciler

"A different leader... would have said: 'OK, these people oppressed us for many years. Let's kill them.' But the stance he took will be remembered by all South Africans and all people of the world," said the famous South African photographer Alf Khumalo before he died in 2012.

The icon role was important, but Mr Mandela's defining contribution to South Africa's revolution was as reconciler-in-chief - first during the bold, risky negotiations he conducted with the apartheid government while he was still in prison, and later during his exhaustive attempts to reassure a nervous white minority - some still argue he bent over too far protecting their business interests - and to calm the rage of an impatient black majority.

There were many key moments - the Rugby World Cup final in 1995 springs to mind, when Mr Mandela presented the cup to the South African team captain.

But none defined his leadership more, or played a more crucial part in averting civil war, than his interventions immediately after the 1993 assassination of the struggle hero Chris Hani.

"Tonight I am reaching out to every single South African, black and white, from the very depths of my being," said Nelson Mandela on national television, warning that "our whole nation now teeters on the brink of disaster".

"He saved the country. No doubt about it," remembers veteran South African journalist Allister Sparks.

"That's when the natural power of leadership rose up. The whole country recognised it."

Fighter

He may have become a reconciler, but Mr Mandela will also be remembered as a radical, a rebel and a "young firebrand" who helped to push the ANC away from its rather gentlemanly opposition to apartheid and into a violent confrontation with white rule.

It was Mr Mandela who initiated and led the armed struggle, despite his lack of military experience.

"We had no choice but to turn to violence," he wrote in his autobiography. "I who had never been a soldier... had been given the task of starting an army."

This is the most divisive part of Mr Mandela's life and legacy.

He was branded a terrorist by the South African government. In the 1980s, Britain's then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's spokesman described the ANC as "a typical terrorist organisation". Today, most white South Africans cherish Mr Mandela's contribution to the country's peaceful revolution, but a handful both here and abroad will no doubt continue to focus on, and condemn, his militancy.

Today that militancy is also emphasised - and celebrated - by some black South African politicians.

The fiery former ANC Youth League President Julius Malema told me that foreigners "know nothing of Mandela" and are attempting to subvert his radical agenda.

Mr Malema's colleagues say they are carrying on Mr Mandela's true legacy by pushing for the nationalisation of white businesses and the seizure, without compensation, of white-owned land.

Charmer

Mr Mandela was a powerful public speaker. But when he emerged from prison he could also appear stiff and regal in front of a crowd.

His real strength - his political genius, you might argue - lay in his one-to-one interactions with people of all walks of life.

"He had a gift for personal intimacy," is how veteran journalist Allister Sparks describes it. "No-one was too small to be of real interest to him."

It was that gift, among others, that helped him rise through the ANC, and to maintain his "first-among-equals" status in prison.

Later it helped convince the apartheid government's representatives, who visited him in jail to negotiate his release, that this was a man they could trust. Had they not, South Africa's revolution could have lasted much longer, and been far more violent.

Some later worried that Mr Mandela's charm had turned his head, that he kept some unsavoury friends, and was too enamoured of celebrity culture.

But most South Africans were quick to indulge him and even to enjoy the all-too-human foibles of a man they knew was much more than a mere "saint".

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Nelson Mandela death: Icon, reconciler, fighter and charmer

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Nelson Mandela was not an easy man to sum up. Icon, reconciler, fighter, charmer ... The list is long and, perhaps necessarily so in a man of his stature, contradictory. During the course of a long, tumultuous life, Nelson Mandela juggled many roles.

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The Hero Archetype in Literature, Religion, and Popular Culture: http://tatsbox.com/hero/ (along with a useful PowerPoint presentation teachers can download at this URL: http://tatsbox.com/hero/powerpnt.htm )
Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (users embark on their own hero's journey): http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/
An American Masters Lesson from PBS for Teachers on George Lucas, the Power of Myth, and the Hero's Journey: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/lessons/george-lucas-and-the-power-of-myth/lesson-overview/1292/
And an interactive approach to the Hero's Journey: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/herosjourney/
And of course, information about Joseph Campbell's works on the subject, on the Joseph Campbell Foundation site:
The Hero With A Thousand Faces http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php?categoryid=83&p9999_action=details&p9999_wid=692
The Hero's Journey (semi-biographical film): http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php?categoryid=83&p9999_action=details&p9999_wid=681
Compare the stories of (a) Odin hanging from the world tree, Yggdrasil, (b) the Buddha seated under the Bodhi Tree, and (c) the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Do all of these religious episodes follow the pattern of the hero's journey? Find a comparable story from another continent. Does it follow the hero's journey pattern?
Challenge the paradigm. Is the hero's journey formula so flexible that it can be applied to any story with a main character and a beginning-middle-end story arc? Try to identify a successful book or movie that defies the hero's journey pattern. Consider how that story could be modified to conform to the hero's journey. Compare the two versions.
Bill Moyers interviews Joseph Campbell http://video.pbs.org/video/2201676017/
Video featuring respected screenwriter Chris Vogler's interpretation of Campbell's work http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB_Q1gFsvIw
New Mexico State University iTunesU course on Mythology http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/mythology/id497995501

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What trials unite not only Harry Potter or Frodo Baggins but many of literature's most interesting heroes? And what do ordinary people have in common with these literary heroes? Matthew Winkler takes us step-by-step through the crucial events that make or break a hero.

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Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) - Video - TIME.com

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A look back at the life and career of Nelson Mandela. Narrated by TIME's former managing editor, Richard Stengel

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His Day is Done - A Tribute Poem for Nelson Mandela by Dr. Maya Angelou

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RTL2 - La Culture Pop-Rock : radio, actualité, musique

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Écoutez RTL2 le son Pop-Rock : retrouvez vos animateurs et artistes préférés, les interviews, les sessions acoustiques, les Concerts Très Très Privés. De nombreux jeux, quiz pour gagner des albums et des places de concert.

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CLOSE

Despite being based on Nelson Mandela's autobiography, the film offers little insight into an important figure in the human rights struggle. However, Idris Elba's performance makes it worth seeing.

Sometimes it's the most remarkable and heroic figures whom movies can't seem to get right.

Such is the case with Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (* * ½ out of four; rated PG-13; opens Friday in select cities), a biopic that is more dutiful than illuminating.

Earnest and ambitious, the film suffers from trying to squeeze in too many milestones of Nelson Mandela's long life as he worked to end the oppressive regime of apartheid in South Africa. But the talent of the lead actors lends it heft, particularly the commanding performance of Idris Elba as Mandela.

Elba captures Mandela's activist spirit as well as his vocal cadences, though he resembles him less than Morgan Freeman and others who have played him in movies.
STORY: Idris Elba takes a 'Long Walk' to success
REVIEWS: The latest movie reviews from USA TODAY
TRAILERS: Coming soon to theaters
HOLIDAY MOVIE CALENDAR: December
As it is based on the subject's autobiography, Mandela should be more than well-meaning. But what ends up on the screen lacks the shading and complexity one would expect of the story of the 95-year-old South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and former president.

The biopic covers half a century, including Mandela's teen years, his time as a Johannesburg attorney, his involvement in anti-colonial politics, the 27 years he spent in a remote prison and his election in 1994, when he became South Africa's first black president. His commitment to the anti-apartheid cause is striking because of what we know of him from real-life news accounts. But the film does little to deepen our sense of the man behind the kindly, open face.

Elba is the reason to see the film. He powerfully conveys Mandela's charisma and impassioned dedication.

The film wisely doesn't sweeten Mandela's personal life. His womanizing, failed first marriage and strained relationship with his son are portrayed with some complexity.

But director Justin Chadwick rarely presents Mandela as a flesh-and-blood mortal. Instead, he sanctifies him. Telling details are bypassed in favor of too many fiery speeches.

Naomie Harris is convincing as the spirited Winnie Mandela, Nelson's wife from 1958 to 1992. Her story was less effectively covered in Winnie, a film starring Jennifer Hudson that came out in September. Harris' chemistry with Elba is evident. While the couple's eventual estrangement is treated somewhat cursorily, we get a sense of how they grew apart because of their differences in outlook (he was more moderate) as well as their long separation during the nearly three decades he was imprisoned. Their outrage at the country's institutionalized racism took markedly different forms. An increased focus on their diverging tactics might have made this a more intriguing film.

Instead, Winnie is off-screen for sizable periods, and her evolution from loyal spouse to unfaithful militant leaves the viewer with questions.

While meaningfully portraying the eventful life of a great leader is no doubt a huge challenge, the story could have been more tightly focused and less surface-skimming.

At times, it feels like a listing of key events in Mandela's life, rather than an insightful, humanizing portrait.

And in the final third, everything feels rushed.

Mandela's is undeniably a fascinating life, and given his age and recent ill health, the time is right for a comprehensive look at his significant contributions to human rights.

But the cinematic retelling would have benefited from deeper illumination and perspective.

It's not hard to be affected by a film chronicling the accomplishments of such a heroic figure. But Mandela deserves something more profound, layered and dimensional, much like the man himself.

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/IjzqNN

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'Long Walk to Freedom' doesn't do Mandela's journey justice

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CLOSE Despite being based on Nelson Mandela's autobiography, the film offers little insight into an important figure in the human rights struggle. However, Idris Elba's performance makes it worth seeing. Sometimes it's the most remarkable and heroic figures whom movies can't seem to get right.

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English News Lessons: Free 26-Page lesson plan / 2-page mini-lesson - Nelson Mandela - Handouts, online activities, speed reading, dictation, mp3... current events.

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Simple Minds   Mandela Day   Mandela 70th Wembley 1988

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Try the online quiz, reading, listening, and activities on grammar, spelling and vocabulary for this lesson on Zzzzz. Click on the links above or see the activities below this article:

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READ

Nelson Mandela was one of the most loved and respected people in the world. For countless reasons he was and remains a huge hero. He was a person from whom we can all learn many lessons. He experienced many things in his nine decades, from being tortured to becoming president of the country he loved. After retiring, he continued to travel the world, helping people and raising awareness of global issues.

Nelson was born in 1918 into a South Africa that was divided along black and white racial lines. He said he had a wonderful childhood and was a keen runner and boxer. He learnt more of the terrible apartheid system when he studied to become a lawyer. This led to his campaigning for equal rights and his involvement in the African National Congress (ANC), which he later became the leader of.

The South African government did its best to keep Mandela from spreading his message of equality for blacks and racial unity. It put him in prison for 27 years. He became famous around the world as an icon of the struggle for freedom in South Africa. Rock stars, actors, politicians and ordinary people campaigned to free him and end apartheid. He was released from prison in 1990 and the world rejoiced.

Nelson Mandela's call for racial reconciliation won him the hearts of millions. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1993, and over 250 more awards. A year later, he became his country's first ever black president and served in office until 1999. In his retirement, he continued to tirelessly campaign for many global causes until old age slowed him down. He died on the 5th of December, 2013, aged 95.

Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and assorted biographies.

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Try the online quiz, reading, listening, and activities on grammar, spelling and vocabulary for this lesson on Zzzzz. Click on the links above or see the activities below this article: Your browser does not support this audio player. Nelson Mandela was one of the most loved and respected people in the world.

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Nelson Mandela, the towering figure of Africa's struggle for freedom and a hero to millions around the world, has died at the age of 95.

South Africa's first black president died in the company of his family at home in Johannesburg after years of declining health that had caused him to withdraw from public life.

The news was announced to the country by the current president, Jacob Zuma, who in a sombre televised address said Mandela had "departed" around 8.50pm local time and was at peace.

"This is the moment of our deepest sorrow," Zuma said. "Our nation has lost its greatest son ... What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves.

"Fellow South Africans, Nelson Mandela brought us together and it is together that we will bid him farewell."

Zuma announced that Mandela would receive a state funeral and ordered that flags fly at half-mast.

Early on Friday morning Archbishop Desmond Tutu led a memorial service in Capetown where he called for South Africa to become as a nation what Mandela had been as a man.

Mandela's two youngest daughters were at the premiere of the biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom in London last night. They received the news of their father's death during the screening in Leicester Square and immediately left the cinema.

Barack Obama led tributes from world leaders, referring to Mandela by his clan name - Madiba. The US president said: "Through his fierce dignity and unbending will to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom of others, Madiba transformed South Africa - and moved all of us.

"His journey from a prisoner to a president embodied the promise that human beings - and countries - can change for the better. His commitment to transfer power and reconcile with those who jailed him set an example that all humanity should aspire to, whether in the lives of nations or our own personal lives."

David Cameron said: "A great light has gone out in the world" and described Mandela as "a hero of our time".

FW de Klerk - the South African president who freed Mandela, shared the Nobel peace prize with him and paved the way for him to become South Africa's first post-apartheid head of state - said the news was deeply saddening for South Africa and the world.

"He lived reconciliation. He was a great unifier," De Klerk said.

Throughout Thursday night and into Friday morning people gathered in the streets of South Africa to celebrate Mandela's life.

In Soweto people gathered to sing and dance near the house where he once lived. They formed a circle in the middle of Vilakazi Street and sang songs from the anti-apartheid struggle. Some people were draped in South African flags and the green, yellow and black colours of Mandela's party, the African National Congress.

"We have not seen Mandela in the place where he is, in the place where he is kept," they sang, a lyric anti-apartheid protesters had sung during Mandela's long incarceration.

Several hundred people took part in lively commemorations outside Mandela's final home in the Houghton neighbourhood of Johannesburg. A man blew on a vuvuzela horn and people made impromptu shrines with national flags, candles, flowers and photographs.

Mandela was taken to hospital in June with a recurring lung infection and slipped into a critical condition, but returned home in September where his bedroom was converted into an intensive care unit.

His death sends South Africa deep into mourning and self-reflection, nearly 20 years after he led the country from racial apartheid to inclusive democracy.

But his passing will also be keenly felt by people around the world who revered Mandela as one of history's last great statesmen, and a moral paragon comparable with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

It was a transcendent act of forgiveness after spending 27 years in prison, 18 of them on Robben Island, that will assure his place in history. With South Africa facing possible civil war, Mandela sought reconciliation with the white minority to build a new democracy.

He led the African National Congress to victory in the country's first multiracial election in 1994. Unlike other African liberation leaders who cling to power, such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, he then voluntarily stepped down after one term.

Mandela was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1993.

At his inauguration a year later, the new president said: "Never, never, and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another ... the sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement. Let freedom reign. God bless Africa!"

Born Rolihlahla Dalibhunga in a small village in the Eastern Cape on 18 July 1918, Mandela was given his English name, Nelson, by a teacher at his school.

He joined the ANC in 1943 and became a co-founder of its youth league. In 1952, he started South Africa's first black law firm with his partner, Oliver Tambo.

Mandela was a charming, charismatic figure with a passion for boxing and an eye for women. He once said: "I can't help it if the ladies take note of me. I am not going to protest."

He married his first wife, Evelyn Mase, in 1944. They were divorced in 1957 after having three children. In 1958, he married Winnie Madikizela, who later campaigned to free her husband from jail and became a key figure in the struggle.

When the ANC was banned in 1960, Mandela went underground. After the Sharpeville massacre, in which 69 black protesters were shot dead by police, he took the difficult decision to launch an armed struggle. He was arrested and eventually charged with sabotage and attempting to overthrow the government.

Conducting his own defence in the Rivonia trial in 1964, he said: "I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.

"It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

He escaped the death penalty but was sentenced to life in prison, a huge blow to the ANC that had to regroup to continue the struggle. But unrest grew in townships and international pressure on the apartheid regime slowly tightened.

Finally, in 1990, FW de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC and Mandela was released from prison amid scenes of jubilation witnessed around the world.

In 1992, Mandela divorced Winnie after she was convicted on charges of kidnapping and accessory to assault.

His presidency rode a wave of tremendous global goodwill but was not without its difficulties. After leaving frontline politics in 1999, he admitted he should have moved sooner against the spread of HIV/Aids in South Africa.

His son died from an Aids-related illness. On his 80th birthday, Mandela married Graça Machel, the widow of the former president of Mozambique. It was his third marriage. In total, he had six children, of whom three daughters survive: Pumla Makaziwe (Maki), Zenani and Zindziswa (Zindzi). He has 17 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who headed the truth and reconciliation committee after the fall of apartheid, said: "He transcended race and class in his personal actions, through his warmth and through his willingness to listen and to emphasise with others. And he restored others' faith in Africa and Africans."

Mandela was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2001 and retired from public life to be with his family and enjoy some "quiet reflection". But he remained a beloved and venerated figure, with countless buildings, streets and squares named after him. His every move was scrutinised and his health was a constant source of media speculation.

Mandela continued to make occasional appearances at ANC events and attended the inauguration of the current president, Jacob Zuma. His 91st birthday was marked by the first annual "Mandela Day" in his honour.

He was last seen in public at the final of the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg, a tournament he had helped bring to South Africa for the first time. Early in 2011, he was taken to hospital in a health scare but he recovered and was visited by Michelle Obama and her daughters a few months later.

In January 2012, he was notably missing from the ANC's centenary celebrations due to his frail condition. With other giants of the movement such as Tambo and Walter Sisulu having gone before Mandela, the defining chapter of Africa's oldest liberation movement is now closed.
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Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, dies aged 95

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Nelson Mandela, the towering figure of Africa's struggle for freedom and a hero to millions around the world, has died at the age of 95. South Africa's first black president died in the company of his family at home in Johannesburg after years of declining health that had caused him to withdraw from public life.

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(18 July 1918 - 5 December 2013) "was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative, multiracial election.

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Nelson Mandela, Who Led South Africa's Liberation, Dies at 95

Mr. Mandela, who led the emancipation of South Africa from white minority rule and served as his country's first black president, becoming an international emblem of dignity and forbearance, died on Dec. 5 at age 95.
Read Full Obituary "

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Death of Nelson Mandela: Complete Coverage

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Mr. Mandela, who led the emancipation of South Africa from white minority rule and served as his country's first black president, becoming an international emblem of dignity and forbearance, died on Dec. 5 at age 95. Read Full Obituary "