Here is a look at the life of Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former president of South Africa.
Personal: Birth date: July 18, 1918
Birth place: Mvezo, Transkei, South Africa.
Birth name: Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela
Father: Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, a counselor to the royal house of the Thembu tribe
Mother: Nosekeni Fanny Mandela
Marriages: Graca (Machel) Mandela (July 18, 1998 - present); "Winnie" (Madikizela) Mandela (1958 - 1996, divorce); Evelyn (Ntoko) Mandela (1944 - 1958, divorce)
Children: with Winnie Mandela: Zindzi, 1960 and Zenani, 1959; with Evelyn Mandela: Makaziwe, 1953; Makgatho, 1950 - January 6, 2005; Makaziwe, 1947 - 1948; Thembekile, 1946 - 1969
Education: University of South Africa, law degree, 1942
Other Facts: He was given the name Nelson by a school teacher. He is also sometimes called Madiba, his traditional clan name.
Mandela has been called both "the world's most famous political prisoner" and "South Africa's Great Black Hope."
Timeline: 1941-1943 - Mandela meets Walter Sislu who helps him get a job at the law firm of Witkin, Sidelsky, and Eidelman.
1944 - Joins the African National Congress and helps found the ANC Youth League.
1951 - Becomes president of the ANC Youth League.
1952 - Opens the first black law partnership in South Africa with friend Oliver Tambo.
1952 - Leads the newly launched [ANC] Campaign for the Defiance of Unjust Laws, a program of nonviolent mass resistance.
July 1952 - Mandela is charged with violating the Suppression of Communism Act.
December 5, 1956 - Mandela is among 156 resistance leaders arrested and charged with high treason.
March 21, 1960 - In Sharpeville, police fire upon protestors challenging apartheid laws; 69 people are killed.
April 8, 1960 - The ANC is banned nine days after Mandela is arrested and the government imposes a state of emergency after the events in Sharpeville.
March 29, 1961 - Mandela and all co-defendants are found not guilty of treason.
June 1961 - Mandela begins organizing the armed struggle against apartheid Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nations). He travels in Africa and Europe studying guerrilla warfare.
August 5, 1962 - Is arrested on charges of inciting workers to strike and leaving the country without valid travel documents. Mandela represents himself at trial.
November 7, 1962 - Is sentenced to prison, five years hard labor.
June 12, 1964 - Is sentenced to life in prison for four counts of sabotage. Convicted and sentenced with Mandela are Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Denis Goldberg and others.
1980 - The Johannesburg Sunday Post leads a campaign to free Mandela. A petition demanding his and other ANC prisoners' release is printed in the newspaper.
1982- Is transferred to Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison after 18 years on Robben Island.
1988 - Is transferred to Victor Verster Prison.
July 5, 1989 - Meets with President P.W. Botha.
August 15, 1989 - Botha resigns as president and head of the National Party. F.W. de Klerk replaces him and begins dismantling apartheid.
December 13, 1989 - Mandela and de Klerk meet for the first time.
February 11, 1990 - Mandela is released from prison after more than 27 years.
1990 - Embarks on a world tour, visiting Margaret Thatcher, the US Congress, and President George H.W. Bush.
July 1991 - Mandela is elected president of the ANC.
1993 - Mandela and de Klerk share the Nobel Peace Prize.
April 29, 1994 - Elected the first black president of the Republic of South Africa in the first open election in the country's history.
May 10, 1994 - Mandela is inaugurated.
June 1999 - Mandela leaves office.
1999 - Establishes the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
January 19, 2000 - Addresses the United Nations Security Council, appealing for help in ending the brutal civil war between ethnic Hutus and Tutsis in Burundi.