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Mandela Is Born
Rolihlahla Mandela is born in Mvezo, a tiny village in the Transkei, a former British protectorate in the south. His father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was a chief of the Thembu people, a subdivision of the Xhosa nation. The new child’s given name translates, colloquially, as troublemaker. He receives his more familiar English name, Nelson, from a teacher at age 7. -
Nelson Attends Fort Hare University
Mr. Mandela is admitted to the University of Fort Hare, a black institution. Two years later he will be expelled for leading a student protest. -
He Forms the A.N.C. Youth League
Mr. Mandela and other activists form the African National Congress Youth League after becoming disenchanted with the cautious approach of the older members of the A.N.C. The league’s formation marks the shift of the congress to a mass movement. But its manifesto, so charged with pan-African nationalism, offends some non-black sympathizers. -
First Marriage
Mr. Mandela marries Evelyn Ntoko Mase. The couple will have four children, but Mr. Mandela’s political activities will put a strain on the relationship. The couple will divorce in 1958. -
Mandela Starts Law Practice
Mandela and Oliver Tambo open South Africa’s first black law practice. -
Mandela Arrested on Treason Charges
Mr. Mandela is arrested at his home and charged with treason, along with 155 others who called for a nonracial state in South Africa. -
Second Marriage
In the midst of Mr. Mandela’s trial on treason charges, he marries Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela, 16 years his junior. The tumultuous union will produce two daughters and a national drama of forced separation, devotion, remorse and acrimony. -
Acquitted of Treason
Mr. Mandela and his co-defendants are acquitted of treason. Fearing he will be arrested again, Mr. Mandela goes underground. -
He Helps Form Guerrilla Army
Mandela and other A.N.C. leaders form a military wing called Umkhonto we Sizwe, or Spear of the Nation. Mr. Mandela becomes the first commander in chief of the guerrilla army. He will train to fight, work to obtain weapons for the group, and come to be known as the Black Pimpernel, but he will never see combat. -
He was Arrested Again
Mandela is arrested after returning to South Africa from a trip abroad. At the time of his arrest, he had been living underground for 17 months. He is convicted of leaving the country illegally and incitement to strike, and is sentenced to five years in prison. -
Sentenced to Life in Prison
Mandela and seven others are convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Mr. Mandela is sent to Robben Island prison, seven miles off the coast of Cape Town. He will spend the next 18 years there. -
Transferred to Another Prison
Mandela is transferred to the Victor Verster Prison Farm, about 50 miles from Cape Town. The South African government says he will not have to return to Pollsmoor Prison. -
Mandela's Release Promised
Mr. de Klerk lifts the ban on the A.N.C. and several other political organizations, and lifts many of the restrictions put in place when the state of emergency was declared four years earlier. He promises that Mr. Mandela will be released shortly. -
Mandela Freed
Mandela, now 71, is freed without conditions, ending 27 and a half years of imprisonment. For Mr. de Klerk, enlisting Mr. Mandela in negotiations over a new constitution seems to be the surest way to achieve his stated goal: to end political domination by the white minority without replacing it with domination by the black majority. -
Breakup of Second Marriage
Mandela announces that he and his wife, Winnie, have agreed to separate. While saying that his love for Mrs. Mandela “remains undiminished,” Mr. Mandela makes clear that he considers the separation permanent. -
Mandela Sworn In as President
Mandela is sworn in as president of South Africa, making a speech of shared patriotism that summons South Africans’ communal exhilaration in their land and their relief at being freed from the world’s disapproval. -
Third Marriage at 80
On his 80th birthday, Mr. Mandela marries Graça Machel, the 52-year-old widow of the former president of Mozambique, Samora Machel. -
Mandela Dies at 95
The government announces that Mr. Mandela has died, leaving the nation without its moral center at a time of growing dissatisfaction with the country’s leaders. “Our nation has lost its greatest son,” President Jacob Zuma said in a televised address late Thursday night, adding that Mr. Mandela had died at 8:50 p.m. local time.
