Timeline: Nelson Mandela's life and legacy

July 18, 1918 - Born

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is born in the Umtata district of Transkei, the son of a tribal chief.

Pictured: A statue of the former South African president overlooks Bloemfontein, South Africa.
(Themba Hadebe, AP)

1942 - Education

Mandela receives his law degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, located in Johannesburg, South Africa.

1948 - Apartheid

The National Party comes to power in South Africa and implements a policy of apartheid -- an Afrikaans word meaning "apartness."

1952 - Defiance campaign

Leads the Defiance Campaign, encouraging people to break racial separation laws. Convicted under Suppression of Communism Act, banned from attending gatherings and leaving Johannesburg. With Tambo, forms the first black law partnership in South Africa.

1956 - Charged with treason

Mandela is one of 156 South Africans charged with treason for supporting the Freedom Charter, which called for a non-racial democracy and a socialist-based economy. All are acquitted in 1961.

1961 - ANC guerrilla wing formed

Helps establish ANC guerrilla wing called Umkhonto we Sizwe, or "Spear of the Nation."

Pictured: Mandela walks down the street in Johannesburg in 1961.(AP)

June 12, 1964 - Sentenced to life imprisonment

Mandela is one of eight people found guilty of sabotage after police seized ANC documents that outlined a planned guerrilla campaign. Mandela is sentenced to life imprisonment. He is taken to Robben Island Prison off Cape Town.

Pictured: A view of the cell where Mandela was locked up in Robben Island Prison.
(Schalk van Zuydam, AP)

June 16, 1976 - Hundreds dead in protest

Police fire on a protest in Soweto against an edict requiring blacks to be taught in Afrikaans. Violence spreads across South Africa, leaving hundreds dead. The Soweto Uprising galvanizes the anti-apartheid movement around the world.

Pictured: A student carries the body of Hector Petersen, who was slain by police bullets in the riot.

(AP file photo)

1985 - Offer of release

South African President P.W. Botha offers to release Mandela if he will renounce violence. In a fiery statement read by his daughter Zindzi at a rally, Mandela says the burden is on the government to dismantle apartheid and grant full political rights to blacks.
Pictured: P. W. Botha addresses a National Party Congress in 1987.(Eric Miller, AP)

1989 - De Klerk elected president

F.W. de Klerk becomes president and launches a series of reforms. He releases Sisulu and four other of Mandela's co-defendants. Leading anti-apartheid groups repudiate Winnie Mandela, accusing her of complicity in the abduction and assault of a 14-year-old black activist.

Pictured: De Klerk gathers his thoughts before giving a lecture at the Central Connecticut State University in 1997. (Steve Miller, AP)

May 10, 1994 - President

Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.

Pictured: Mandela dances at a celebration concert following in inauguration. (John Parkin, AP)

May 29, 1996 - Divorce

Granted a divorce from Winnie Mandela. The couple had been separated since 1992.

Pictured: Mandela kisses his wife during a rally in Cape Town in early 1993.(Benny Gool, AP)

 

June 16, 1999 - Retirement

Retires after one term as president. Turns his attention to peacemaking in other parts of Africa and the world and to fighting AIDS.

Pictured: Mandela, left, raises the hand of newly sworn-in President Thabo Mbeki, at the inauguration ceremony in Pretoria, South Africa on June 16, 1999.

2005 - Son's death

When his son, Makgatho, dies, Mandela says publicly that the cause was AIDS -- a powerful show of openness in a country where the disease is largely kept a shameful secret.

Pictured: Mandela greets the audience at the '46664' Concert at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town in 2003. The '46664' Concert, named after Mandela's Apartheid prison number, is part of his world advocacy for action against AIDS.(Anna Zieminski, AFP/Getty Images)

July 11, 2010 - Johannesburg hosts World Cup

Mandela waved to the crowd at the Soccer City stadium at the World Cup, whose staging in South Africa allowed the country to shine internationally. It was the last public appearance for the former president.

Dec. 5, 2013 - Mandela dies

Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95 after battling a recurring lung infection. In the days before his death, his daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, told SABC television news that he was still "teaching us lessons; lessons in patience, in love, lessons of tolerance."