A look at Nelson Mandela's life

He was born in 1918 and his father was a counselor to the royal family in the eastern cape of South Africa. When his father died, he was raised by royalty and as an adult became an activist with the African National Congress. Know the power of young people, he started the African National Congress Youth League.

He opened a law practice in 1952, and began to campaign against apartheid.

In 1956, he was charged with high treason against the government, along with 155 other activists.

Apartheid was growing stronger, and new laws were passed with which told blacks where they were allowed to live and work. By 1960, the African National Congress was outlawed and Mandela went off the map.

Things were getting worse in South Africa: in 1960, 69 black people were shot by police in the Sharpeville massacre. After years of peaceful resistance, Mandela hatched a plan to destroy the country’s economy. He claimed he hope to bring down the oppressive government and rebuild the country based on democracy, freedom, and above all, equality.

So committed to equality, Mandela said at the time: "It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

He was charged with sabotage and attempting to violently overthrow the government and sentenced to life in prison on Robben Island in South Africa.

While he and other leaders of the ANC were in jail, young South Africans continued to rebel against the apartheid government, but it wasn’t until 1990 that change finally came to South Africa.

The ban against the ANC was lifted, Mandela was released, and talks to form a multi-racial democracy were set to begin.

Three years later, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end apartheid, and months after that he was elected president.

Since he stepped down as president in 1999, he has been dedicated to ending global poverty and helping to resolve wars and conflicts throughout Africa.