Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is a man whose name is known around the globe. His determination to see the fall of apartheid and the birth of equality in South Africa is unrivalled.
Books and movies echo his legacy in the pursuit of a democratic greatness. But it is the way he lived that truly speaks volumes of his deeds. Today, July 18, people around the world will celebrate Nelson Mandela Day. They will do this by dedicating 67 minutes of their time to help someone need.
While Madiba passed away in 2013, today would have marked his 100th birthday. Marking the iconic former South African president’s birthday, we will look at some less known facts about the father of our nation.
Did you know this about Mandela?
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He escaped an arranged marriage
Madiba fled the Eastern Cape for Johannesburg, when the leader of the Tembu tribe, Jongintaba Dalindyebo, tried to set him up for an arranged marriage. He apparently found work at a mine as a night watchman once arriving in the city.
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He lived up to his name
In Xhosa, Rolihlahla means pulling the branch of a tree, colloquially meaning troublemaker. While he is regarded a hero to many, he was definitely a troublemaker for the apartheid regime.
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Co-founder of the first black law firm
Not many know this, Mandela co-founded the country’s first black law firm with Oliver Tambo.
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His name lives on in more ways than one
He has a nuclear particle, the Mandela Particle, a prehistoric woodpecker, Astralopicus nelsonmandelai, and an orchid, Parvanda Nelson Mandela, named after him.
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Mandela was on the U.S. Terror List
Due to his and other ANC members militant stance against apartheid, he was put on the U.S. terror list. While he eventually left prison, becoming president in 1994, he was only removed from the list in 2008 when he was 89 years old.
