Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 into the Thembu royal family in the Xhosa people of South Africa. After studying to become a lawyer, he became increasingly involved as an activist against apartheid, the racist set of laws that governed life in South Africa during much of Mandela’s lifetime. Mandela’s participation in activist groups like the African National Congress made the government view Mandela as an enemy, culminating in him being sentenced to life in prison. During this time in prison, Mandela didn’t give up hope and began writing an autobiography that would later for the basis for his book Long Walk to Freedom (later published in 1994). Mandela eventually achieved freedom in February 1990, and he went on to become the first president of South Africa to be democratically elected in a free election. He became less active in public life starting around 2004, although he continued to make occasional appearances and published a collection of his speeches and letters called Conversations with Myself in 2010. He died in 2013 at the age of 95.