The world knows Nelson Mandela as a man who fought against apartheid and forever changed the course of modern history. This Nobel Peace laureate, who spent 27 years in prison, isn't just an activist, but a role model for many world leaders. And he
Every year, July 18, his birthday, is observed as Mandela Day.
When he was in prison, it was forbidden to quote him or publish his photo, but go-betweens ferried messages from prisoners to anti-apartheid leaders in exile. Mandela offered lessons on the movement to guards-- who were all white.
In one 1995 note, written in blue ink, Mandela mused on Valentine's Day, saying his rural upbringing by illiterate parents left him "colossally ignorant" about simple things like a holiday devoted to romance.
Mandela was married three times, fathered six children, had 17 grandchildren. After Evelyn Ntoko Mase and Winnie (in pic), Mandela married Graça Machel on his 80th birthday.
Classified as a 'D-class' prisoner, he was allowed to wear only a pair of shorts and have only one visitor a year.
Mandela was confined to the harsh Robben Island prison off the coast of Cape Town for most of his time behind bars. He and others quarried limestone there, working seven hours a day nearly every day for 12 years, until forced labour was abolished on
The apartheid government offered to release Mandela on no less than six occasions but he rejected them each time. On one such occasion Mandela released a statement saying: "I cherish my own freedom dearly, but I care even more for your freedom ...
The US had labelled Mandela's ANC a terrorist organisation by the apartheid government and it was removed only in 2008.
Mandela belongs to the Thembu, a Xhosa clan, and is often referred to by his clan name, Madiba.
He was against colonial rule in college itself. In less than 12 months after joining Fort Hare Missionary College, Mandela was expelled for organising a strike against the white colonial rule of the institution.
Nelson is not Mandela's birth name. It was Rolihlahla, which was changed by his school teachers, who couldn't pronounce it. Colloquially, Rolihlahla means troublemaker.
In 1995, Mandela strode onto the field at the Rugby World Cup final in Johannesburg wearing South African colours. His decision to wear the Springbok emblem, the symbol once hated by blacks, conveyed the message that rugby, so long shunned by the