Key dates in the life of Nelson Mandela

A young Nelson Mandela and his second wife, Winnie Mandela. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - On the 100th anniversary of his birth, here are key dates in the life of the late anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president.

July 18, 1918

He is born into the Thembu royal family in the rural ranskei.

1943

Joins the African National Congress (ANC), co-founding its Youth League the following year.

1952

Mandela leads a campaign of defiance against the apartheid system, installed four years earlier. He and Oliver Tambo open the first black law firm in Johannesburg.

1958

Marries his second wife, anti-apartheid figure Winnie Madikizela, whom he divorces in 1996.

1961

Mandela and other activists are acquitted on treason charges laid five years earlier. The ANC launches its armed wing with Mandela as commander in chief.

1962

He is captured and sentenced to prison for incitement and leaving the country illegally.

1964

Mandela and other senior anti-apartheid leaders are tried and sentenced to life for sabotage. He is sent to Robben Island prison off Cape Town.

1985

Refuses pardon offered by president P. W. Botha on condition he renounce violence.

1990

After 27 years in jail, Mandela is released.

1991

He is elected ANC president.

1993

Mandela and the last apartheid-era president, F.W. de Klerk, are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1994

The ANC wins the first all-race elections and Mandela is inaugurated as president.

1998

Marries Graca Machel, widow of former Mozambican president Samora Machel.

1999

He steps down after one term.

DECEMBER 5, 2013

After months of intensive medical care, Mandela dies aged 95.

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