time line of nelson modela

Year	Events
1918	Born Rolihlahla Mandela at Mvezo in the Transkei
1925	Attends primary school near Qunu (receives the name ‘Nelson’ from a teacher)
1930	Father dies.Entrusted to Thembu Regent Jongintaba Dalindyebo at the age of 12
1934	Undergoes initiation; Attends Clarkebury Boarding Institute in Engcobo
1937	Attends Healdtown, the Wesleyan College at Fort Beaufort
1939	Enrols at the University College of Fort Hare, in Alice
1940	Expelled
1941	Escapes an arranged marriage; becomes a mine security officer; starts articles at the law firm Witkin, Sidelsky & Eidelman
1942	Completes BA through the University of South Africa (UNISA)
1942	Begins to attend African National Congress (ANC) meetings informally
1943	Graduates with BA from Fort Hare; Enrols for an LLB at Wits University
1944	Co-founds the ANC Youth League (ANCYL); marries Evelyn Ntoko Mase – they have four children: Thembekile (1945); Makaziwe (1947 – who dies after nine months); Makgatho (1950); Makaziwe (1954)
1948	Elected national secretary of the ANCYL
1951	Elected President of the ANCYL
1952	Defiance Campaign begins; Arrested and charged for violating the Suppression of Communism Act; Elected Transvaal ANC President; Convicted with J.S Moroka, Walter Sisulu and 17 others under the Suppression of Communism Act;
1953	Devises the M-Plan for the ANC’s future underground operations
1955	Watches as the Congress of the People at Kliptown adopts the Freedom Charter
1956	Arrested and later joins 155 others on trial for teason. All are acquitted by 29 March 1961
1958	Divorces Evelyn Mase; Marries Nomzamo Winnie Madikizela – they have two daughters: Zenani (1959) and Zindzi (1960)
1960	Sharpeville Massacre
	A State of Emergency is imposed and he is among thousands detained
	The ANC is banned
1961	Goes underground; Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) is formed
1962	Leaves the country for military training and to garner support for the ANC
	Returns to South Africa
	Arrested near Howick in KwaZulu-Natal
	Sentenced to five years in prison for incitement and leaving the country without a passport
1963	Sent to Robben Island
	Returned to Pretoria Local Prison
	Pleads not guilty to sabotage in the Rivonia Trial
1964	James Kantor discharged and released
	All except Rusty Bernstein are convicted and sentenced to life
	Arrives on Robben Island
1969	Thembekile is killed in a car accident
1982	Mandela, Sisulu, Raymond Mhlaba and Andrew Mlangeni and later Ahmed Kathrada are sent to Pollsmoor Prison
1985	Rejects, through his daughter, Zindzi, South African President PW Botha's offer to release him if he renounces violence
1985	Admitted to the Volks Hospital for prostate surgery
	Discharged from Volks Hospital and returned to Pollsmoor Prison
1988	Admitted to Tygerberg Hospital where he is diagnosed with tuberculosis
	Admitted to Constantiaberg MediClinic
	Moved to Victor Verster Prison in Paarl where he is held for 14 months in a cottage
1990	ANC is unbanned
	Elected ANC Deputy President
1993	Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with President FW de Klerk
1994	Votes for the first time in his life
	Elected by Parliament as first president of a democratic South Africa
	Inaugurated as President of the Republic of South Africa
	Launches his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom
1995	Establishes the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund
1996	Divorces Winnie Mandela
1998	Marries Graça Machel on his 80th birthday
1999	Steps down after one term as President, establishes the Nelson Mandela Foundation
2001	Diagnosed with prostate cancer
2003	Establishes the Mandela Rhodes Foundation
2004	Announces that he will be stepping down from public life
2005	Announces that his eldest son Makgatho had died of AIDS
2007	Attends the installation of his grandson Mandla as chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council
2008	Asks future generations to continue the fight for social justice
	Turns 90 years old
2009	Votes for the fourth time in his life; Attends the inauguration of President Jacob Zuma on 9 May and witnesses Zuma's first State of the Nation address; Turns 91
2010	Formally presented with the Fifa World Cup trophy before it embarks on a tour of South Africa
	His great-granddaughter Zenani is killed in a car accident
	Makes a surprise appearance at the final of the Fifa World Cup in Soweto
	Meets the South African and American football teams that played in the Nelson Mandela Challenge match
2011	Admitted to hospital in Johannesburg. Discharged after two nights
	Votes in the local government elections
	His book Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorised Book of Quotations is launched
	Visited at home by American First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters Sasha and Malia
	Celebrates his 93rd birthday with his family in Qunu, Eastern Cape
	Officially counted in South Africa’s Census 2011
	Spends Christmas with family in Qunu, Transkei
2012	Admitted to hospital
	Discharged from hospital
	Celebrates his 94th birthday with his family in Qunu, Transkei
	Admitted to hospital
	Discharged from hospital
2013	Spends New Year’s Day with members of his family in Johannesburg
	Admitted to hospital
	Discharged from hospital
	Admitted to hospital
	Discharged from hospital
	Admitted to hospital
	Spends his 95th birthday in hospital
	Discharged from hospital
	Passes away at home in Johannesburg