Nelson Mandela was born on July 18th, 1918 in Mvezo, South Africa. After his father's death, young Mandela was raised by Jongintaba, the regent of the Tembu. Mandela chose not to become the next chief to pursue a career as a lawyer. He attended South African Native College and studied law at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Mandela disliked the legislation South Africa had in place. When boiled down to its basics, these laws dictated that anybody who wasn't white had to carry special documents that showed that they were permitted in certain areas that were "reserved" for white people. Mandela traveled around the country, gaining support for nonviolent means of protests against the discriminatory South African laws. In 1955, he was involved in drafting the Freedom Charter, a document that spoke out against the racist laws.
Because of his forward-thinking, Mandela was a frequent target for the police. After the massacre of unarmed black South Africans by police in 1960, Mandela abandoned his nonviolent stance and began performing acts of sabotage against the South African regime. Unfortunately, in 1963 Mandela was captured and in 1964, Mandela was sentenced to life, narrowly escaping the death penalty. He was held in prison until 1990 when he was released. He soon became president of South Africa until 1999, where he chose not to run for a second term. He was active even in his retirement, passing away on December 5th, 2013.
Fun Facts:
- In 1952, Mandela was ordered not to speak to anyone in public.
- Mandela ran a law firm.
- Technically, Mandela was born into a royal family.
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