| 1918 | July
18: Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela is born a member of the Madiba clan.
His tribal name, "Rolihalah," means "troublemaker." He is later given
his English name, Nelson, by a teacher at his school
|
| 1919 | His father is dispossessed of his land and money on the orders of a white magistrate |
| 1927 | His
father dies. The acting chief of the Thembu clan, Jongintaba Dalindyebo
becomes his guardian and ensures he receives an excellent education
|
| 1937 | Moves to Healdtown attending the Wesleyan college in Fort Beaufort. Fort Hare University: Studied for a B.A. and met his lifelong friend Oliver Tambo
|
| 1939 | Asked
to leave Fort Hare due to his involvement in a boycott of the Students'
Representative Council against the university policiesMoves
to Johannesburg to escape an arranged marriage and experiences the
system of apartheid which forbade the black population to vote, travel
without permission or own land
Worked as a guard at a mine and then clerk at a law firm
Completed his degree via a correspondence course at the University of South Africa
Studies Law at the University of Witwatersrand whilst living in Alexandra
|
| 1943 | Joins the African National Congress (ANC) as an activist. |
| 1944 | Forms the Youth League of the ANC with Oliver Tambo and Walter SisluMarries his first wife Evelyn Ntoko Mase. The couple had three children but the marriage breaks up in 1957
|
| 1948 | South
African government (Afrikaner-dominated National Party) limits the
freedom of black Africans even more when the apartheid policy of racial
segregation is introduced across the country
|
| 1952 | Opens
the first black legal firm in South Africa with fellow lawyer Oliver
Tambo providing free or low-cost legal counsel to many blacks who would
otherwise have been without legal representation.Mandela was prominent in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign
|
| 1955 | Freedom Charter adopted at the Congress of the People calling for equal rights and a program of the anti-apartheid cause
|
| 1956 | December
5: Accused of conspiring to overthrow the South African state by
violent means with 155 other political activists and charged with high
treason. The Treason Trial of 1956–61 follows and all were acquitted
|
| 1957 | His marriage of 13 years to his first wife Evelyn Ntoko Mase breaks up |
| 1958 | Marries
Nomzamo "Winnie" Madikizela, a social worker, and the couple have two
children. Their marriage ended in separation in April 1992 and divorce
in March 1996
|
| 1959 | Parliament passes new laws extending racial segregation by creating separate homelands for major black groups in South AfricaThe
ANC loses most of its financial and militant support when members break
away to form the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) under Potlako Leballo
and Robert Sobukwe
|
| 1960 | Sharpeville Massacre: Police kill 69 peaceful protestors and the ANC is bannedMandela goes into hiding and forms an underground military group with armed resistance
|
| 1961 | Issues
a call to arms and becomes the ANC leader of the newly formed
Umkhontoat guerrilla movement at the All-In African Conference
|
| 1962 | August 5: Arrested after living on the run for seventeen months and was imprisoned in the Johannesburg Fort. 25 October 25: Nelson Mandela was sentenced to five years in prison but again goes on the run
|
| 1964 | June
12: Captured and convicted of sabotage and treason and sentenced to
life imprisonment at the age of 46, initially on Robben island where he
would be kept for 18 years
|
| 1965 | Rhodesia gains its independence and only whites are represented in the new government |
| 1968 | His mother dies and his eldest son is killed in a car crash but he not allowed to attend either of the funerals
|
| 1974 | Rhodesia expelled from united nations due to the policy of apartheid |
| 1976 | Over 600 students killed in protests at Soweto and Sharpeville |
| 1977 | Steve Biko, the leader of the protests, is killed whilst in police custody. |
| 1980 | The exiled Oliver Tambo launches an international campaign for the release of his friendZimbabwe gains its independence
|
| 1983 | The government allows farmers to re-arm and protect themselves from black dissidents. |
| 1984 | Governement
sources state that declared that since 1983 black dissidents have
murdered 120, mutilated 25, raped 47 and committed 284 robberies
|
| 1986 | Sanctions against South Africa tightened costing millions in revenue |
| 1988 | Amnesty is announced for all dissidents - 122 surrender. |
| 1990 | February 11: Nelson Mandela is released from prison after 27 years President De Klerk lifts the ban on the African National Congress (ANC)
The ANC and the white National Party begin talks on forming a multi-racial democracy for South Africa.
|
| 1991 | Becomes President of the African National Congress ( ANC )The International Olympics Committee lift a 21 year ban on South African athletes competing in the Olympic Games.
|
| 1992 | April: Separates from Winnie Mandela after she is convicted of kidnapping and being an accessory to assault.
|
| 1993 | March: Divorces Winnie MandelaNelson Mandela and Mr de Klerk are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
|
| 1994 | April 26: Free Elections where black South Africans are allowed to vote for the first time. Nelson Mandela runs for PresidentThe ANC won 252 of the 400 seats in the national assembly
May:
Inaugurated as the first black president of South Africa. He appoints
de Klerk as deputy president and forms as racially mixed Government of
National Unity.
|
| 1995 | South
Africa hosts the 1995 Rugby World Cup and South Africa wins. Nelson
Mandela wears a Springbok shirt when he presents the trophy to Afrikaner
captain Francois Pienaar. This gesture was seen as a major step in the
reconciliation of white and black South Africans.
|
| 1998 | Marries Graca Machel, the widow of the former president of Mozambique, on his 80th birthday. Tour of Canada
|
| 1999 | Relinquishes presidency in favor of Thabo Mbeki, who was nominated ANC president in 1997. Toured the world as a global statesman
|
| 2000 | Appointed as mediator in the civil war in Burundi |
| 2001 | Nelson Mandela was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer with radiationMade an honorary Canadian citizen
|
| 2003 | Attacked the foreign policy of the George W. BushLater
that same year, he lent his support to the 46664 AIDS fundraising
campaign. The initiative was named after his prison number
|
| 2004 | June: Nelson Mandela announced that he would be retiring from public life at the age of 85July: Flew to Bangkok to speak at the XV International AIDS Conference.
23 July: Johannesburg bestowed its highest honour by granting Nelson Mandela the freedom of the city
|
| 2005 | 6 January: His son, Makgatho Mandela died of AIDS |
