# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Nelson Mandela Foundation

Rolihlahla Mandela was born into the Madiba clan in Mvezo, Transkei, on 18 July 1918.

His mother was Nonqaphi Nosekeni and his father, Nkosi Mphakanyiswa Gadla Mandela, was the main advisor to the Acting King of the Thembu people, Jongintaba Dalindyebo.

He received the name "Nelson" on his first day in primary school from his teacher Miss Mdingane. When he was 12 his father died and he was raised by the Regent at the Great Place in Mqhekezweni. He was sent to the best schools available and began studying a BA at Fort Hare University.

When he was expelled for joining a student protest, the Regent told him to return or get married. So he ran away to Johannesburg with his cousin Justice. His first job in 1941 was as a security guard on a gold mine and then as a legal clerk in the law firm Witkin, Edelman and Sidelsky. At the same time he completed his BA through Unisa.

In 1943 he enrolled for an LLB at Wits University. He was a poor student and became more involved in politics from 1944 after he helped to start the ANC Youth League. He married in the same year and needed money to support his family.

By mid-1952 when the university asked him to pay the 27 pounds he owed or leave, he already had three children. He only started studying again in 1962 in prison. He finally graduated with an LLB through Unisa 27 years later.

Later in 1952 he became the National Volunteer-in-Chief of the Defiance Campaign against apartheid laws. He and 19 others were later charged and sentenced to nine months, suspended for two years. In August he and Oliver Tambo started South Africa's first black law firm, Mandela & Tambo.

In those days one could practise as an attorney with a two-year diploma. Later that year he was banned for the first time - he had to ask the government for permission whenever he needed to leave Johannesburg. After the adoption of the Freedom Charter in 1955, 156 people were arrested and charged with treason. The trial lasted four-and-a-half years until 29 March 1961 by which time all were acquitted. The ANC and PAC were banned after the 21 March 1961 killing by police of 69 unarmed protesters in Sharpeville.

Mandela called on the government not to turn South Africa into a republic on 31 May 1961 but to discuss a non-racial constitution. He was ignored so he called for a strike on 29, 30 and 31 March.

In June 1961 he was asked to lead the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto weSizwe and it launched on 16 December that year. On 11 January 1962, Mandela secretly left South Africa to undergo military training and to get support from African countries for the armed struggle.

He was arrested on 5 August and charged with leaving the country illegally and encouraging the strike. He was convicted and sentenced on 7 November 1962 to five years in prison.

On 11 July 1963, a secret hideout he once used was raided by police. On 9 October 1963 he joined 10 others on trial for sabotage in the Rivonia Trial.

On 12 June 1964 he and seven others were sentenced to life imprisonment. While he was in prison his mother and his eldest son died. He was not allowed to attend their funerals.

He spent 18 years on Robben Island, and while at Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town in 1985 he had to go to hospital. When Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee visited him, he had an idea: to see if the government wanted to talk about one day meeting with the ANC.

In 1988 he was taken to hospital for tuberculosis. Three months later he was moved to Victor Verster Prison where he spent his last 14 months in prison. He was released on Sunday 11 February 1990, nine days after the unbanning of the ANC and the PAC.

Other political prisoners were freed and exiles returned. The ANC began talking to the government about South Africa's future. For this work he and President FW de Klerk won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, and on 27 April 1994, Mandela voted in South Africa's first democratic elections.

On 10 May 1994, he was inaugurated as South Africa's first democratically elected President and stepped down after one term. In his retirement he worked on building schools and clinics, highlighting HIV, children and leadership. He died at his home in Johannesburg on 5 December 2013.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Learners' biography - Nelson Mandela Foundation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Rolihlahla Mandela was born into the Madiba clan in Mvezo, Transkei, on 18 July 1918. His mother was Nonqaphi Nosekeni and his father, Nkosi Mphakanyiswa Gadla Mandela, was the main advisor to the Acting King of the Thembu people, Jongintaba Dalindyebo. He received the name "Nelson" on his first day in primary school from his teacher Miss Mdingane.

# data[].attributes.body
Who is Nelson Mandela?

What did Nelson Mandela do that made him renowned?

Why was he an inspiration for many people?

What qualities would you say Nelson Mandela possessed?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Nelson was the son of a tribal chief and was therefore able to achieve some of the best educational opportunities that were offered to South African black citizens. While in school and then later in his young life, he began to witness the prejudice and injustice that was expressed to the black South Africans.

# data[].attributes.headline
National Geographic for kids - Nelson Mandela

# data[].attributes.subject
National Geographic for kids - Nelson Mandela

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Discover the remarkable life and work of Nelson Mandela - who helped change the lives of millions of South African people - in our Nelson Mandela facts...
Throughout history, lots of people around the world have faced discrimination - where they are treated differently because of their race, skin colour, gender, age and lots of other things, too.

Sadly, it still happens to this day! But there are some amazing people who have worked hard to make a change for better, and help us move towards a world where everyone is treated fairly and equally. One such person is Nelson Mandela ...

Nelson Mandela facts

Who was Nelson Mandela?

Full name: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Born: 18 July 1918
Hometown: Mvezo, South Africa
Occupation: President of South Africa and civil rights activist
Died: 5 December 2013
Best known for: Becoming the first black President of South Africa and a civil rights hero
Also known as: Madiba

Nelson Mandela's early life

Nelson Mandela was born on the 18th July 1918 in the village of Mvezo, in an area of South Africa called Transkei. His father's name was Henry, and his mother's Nosekeni Fanny.

As a youngster, little Nelson was actually called Rolihlahla - it wasn't until he was seven that a teacher at school gave him the name 'Nelson', and it stuck!

And check this out... Little Nelson was born into royalty! His father, Henry, was chief of a tribe in south Africa called the Tembu, and his great grandfather was the tribe's king! Sadly, his father died when he was just nine years old.

Nelson studied hard at school and later attended the University of Fort Hare, the South African Native College. He then moved to the city of Johannesburg to study law at the University of the Witwatersrand, before qualifying as a lawyer in 1942, aged 24.

Inequality in South Africa

South Africa is home to many different peoples and cultures - so much so that it's been nicknamed the ' rainbow nation '. But, sadly, at the time that Nelson Mandela was growing up, there was a huge racial divide in the country.

White people ran the country, and they generally led privileged lives with good jobs, nice homes and access to good schools and healthcare. Most black people, however, worked in low-paid jobs, and lived in poor communities with poor facilities. They had far fewer rights, too - they weren't even allowed to vote in elections!

Like many others, Nelson Mandela felt that everyone deserved to be treated the same, regardless of their skin colour. And so in 1944 he joined the African National Congress (ANC) - a political group that strived for equal rights for whites and blacks.

In 1948 the South African government introduced a system called ' apartheid', which furthered racial divide in the country even more. Under new racist laws, black people and white people were forced to lead separate lives. They weren't allowed to live in the same areas, share a table in a restaurant, attend the same schools or even sit together on a train or bus!

What did Nelson Mandela do?

During the years that Nelson was under arrest, the government banned anti-apartheid groups such as the ANC. But that didn't stop Nelson and his fellow activists - in fact, they felt more had to be done to bring about change. And even though they preferred using peaceful protests in their struggle for equality, in 1961 Nelson and other ANC leaders formed a secret military group called Umkhonto we Sizwe, or Spear of the Nation.

Why did Nelson Mandela go to prison?

In 1963, the police raided a farm near the city of Johannesburg and found documents belonging to the secret army, as well as weapons. The result? The following year, Nelson and seven other men were charged for plotting to overthrow the government and given life sentences. Nelson would spend the next 27 years behind bars ...

When was Nelson Mandela freed from prison?

Come the 1994 general election, all races in South Africa were allowed to vote. And Nelson's hard work for so many years finally paid off... The ANC won, and Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first black president.

As President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela improved the living standards and facilities of South Africa's black population, who had suffered for decades under apartheid. He also worked hard to make South Africa a country of equality, where people of all race and colour lived together in peace.

When did Nelson Mandela die?

From 2004, he lived a quiet life with his wife Graca. Following a lung infection, Nelson Mandela sadly died in December 2013, he was 95 years old.

How is Nelson Mandela remembered?

What did you think of our Nelson Mandela facts? Let us know by leaving a comment, below!

Likes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The life of Nelson Mandela | National Geographic Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn all about South Africa's first black president in our Nelson Mandela facts. Find out how and why Nelson Mandela became a world-famous human rights activist and a symbol of freedom and equality. Where was Nelson Mandela born? Why was Nelson Mandela sent to prison? When is Nelson Mandela day?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kids learn about Nelson Mandela's biography. A great civil rights leader from South Africa.