Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in a small village in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. He was one of 13 children.
At the age of seven, he became the first member of his family to go to school. At that time, all black children were given English names by their teachers. Rolilahla became Nelson.
When Mandela was nine years old, his father died, and Mandela became the royal leader of his tribe.
After he finished school, Nelson Mandela studied law at the University of Fort Hare. He also enjoyed boxing and running.
As a lawyer and a member of the African National Congress, he fought agains the system of apartheid, in South Africa.
In 1964, he was sent to prison for life, for "trying to bring down" the government. He spent 18 of his years in prison on Robert Island.
In 1990, Mandela was released from prison by the Prime Minister, Mr FW De Klerk.
In 1998 Nelson Mandela and De Klerk won the Nobel Peace Prize. A year later, he became the first black President of the new South Africa
Nelson Mandela died on 5 December 2013.
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