18 July 1918
Rolihlahla Mandela is born in a small South African village called Mvezo.

1925
Mandela becomes the first person in his family to go to school. A teacher gives him the name Nelson after having difficulty pronouncing his real name.

1937

1941
Mandela flees to Johannesburg, to avoid an arranged marriage. There he meets Walter Sisulu and begins work at his law firm.

1944
Two years after joining the African National Congress (ANC), Mandela and 60 other young members form the ANC Youth League.

1948
The National Party comes to power on the policy of apartheid. The ANC launch a campaign of passive resistance against the laws. They later begin the Campaign for the Defence of Unjust Laws.

1952
Mandela sets up the country's first black law firm with Oliver Tambo. They provide legal services to those who would have normally had no representation.

1953
The ANC is concerned that it will be banned so Mandela is tasked with ensuring the party can work underground.

1956
Along with 155 others, Mandela is arrested and charged with treason. After a four-year trial, the charges are dropped.

21 March 1960
Police kill 69 people, including women and children, as black people protest in Sharpeville against restrictions on their freedom of movement. A state of emergency is declared, amid fears of retaliation, and the ANC is banned.

1961
The ANC concludes that peaceful protest is not enough to combat apartheid and forms an underground military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation). Mandela, now vice-president of the ANC, is appointed as the group's first leader.

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1962
Having spent a year underground, Mandela is arrested for leaving the country illegally. He is sentenced to five years in jail.

12 June 1964
At the end of the eight-month trial, Mandela and seven other defendants are given life sentences and taken to prison on Robben Island.

March 1982
Mandela and fellow ANC leaders are transferred to Pollsmoor Prison.

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11 February 1990
Mandela is freed after 27 years, as a result of a relaxation of apartheid laws and the lifting of the ban on the ANC. He is greeted by large crowds as he and wife Winnie leave the prison grounds.

1991
At the ANC's first national conference in South Africa, Mandela is elected president of the party.

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1993
Mandela, along with South African President FW De Klerk, is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to bring stability to South Africa.

Accepting the award, Mandela says: "We will do what we can to contribute to the renewal of our world."

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27 April 1994
South Africans, including Nelson Mandela, vote in the country's first democratic election.

Mandela, leader of the ANC, is elected as the country's first black president.

10 May 1994
Nelson Mandela addresses the crowds at his inauguration, saying: "Let freedom reign, God bless Africa!"

Thabo Mbeki, Mandela's deputy, takes over the day-to-day running of government, leaving Mandela to promote the country around the world.

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1999
Thabo Mbeki takes over from Mandela as president of South Africa and goes on to win the 1999 presidential election.

2001
Mandela is diagnosed with prostate cancer and begins a course of radiation.

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2004
Announcing his retirement from public life, Mandela says he plans to enjoy a quieter life and spend more time with his family.

Joking with reporters, he says: "The appeal therefore is - don't call me, I'll call you."

2007

Despite his retirement, Mandela forms The Elders. The group, which includes Archbishop Desmond Tutu and other statesmen and women, aims to help tackle the world's problems.

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Speaking to the crowd he says "It is time for new hands to lift the burdens, it is in your hands now."

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