South African lawyer and politician, 1st President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid activist and statesman who was the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first Black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His administration focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by fostering racial reconciliation, a national peace accord and eventual multiracial democracy. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.

Born

1918

July 18

Died

2013

Era

1910s

Country

—

About

Nelson, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1918 Born
2013 Died

Also on July 18

What else happened on this day, through history

-477 Battle of the Cremera as part of the Roman–Etruscan Wars. Veii ambushes and defeats the Roman army.
362 Roman–Persian Wars: Emperor Julian arrives at Antioch with a Roman expeditionary force (60,000 men) and stays there for nine months to launch a campaign against the Persian Empire.
452 Sack of Aquileia: After an earlier defeat on the Catalaunian Plains, Attila lays siege to the metropolis of Aquileia and eventually destroys it.
645 Chinese forces under general Li Shiji besiege the strategic fortress city of Anshi (Liaoning) during the Goguryeo–Tang War.

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The world in 1918

When Nelson arrived

april 1 The Royal Air Force is created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.
april 20 World War I: Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a. The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day.
april 21 World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as "The Red Baron", is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France.
april 23 World War I: The British Royal Navy makes a raid in an attempt to neutralise the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on July 18

Clifford Odets 1906–1963 American director, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1906) Edward Bond 1934– English director, playwright, and screenwriter (died 2024) Elio Di Rupo 1951– Belgian chemist, academic, and politician, 68th Prime Minister of Belgium Hendrik Lorentz 1853–1928 Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1853) Hunter S. Thompson 1937–2005 American journalist and author (born 1937) Philip Snowden 1864–1937 1st Viscount Snowden, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (died 1937) Sarah Kinsley 2000– American singer-songwriter Vasil Levski 1837–1873 Bulgarian activist, founded the Internal Revolutionary Organization (born 1837)

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1918

Abdul Haris Nasution 1918–2000 Indonesian general and politician, 12th Indonesian Minister of Defence (died 2000) Arthur Jackson 1918– American lieutenant and target shooter (died 2015) Arthur Kornberg 1918–2007 American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2007) B. K. S. Iyengar 1918–2014 Indian yoga instructor and author, founded Iyengar Yoga (born 1918) Brenda Milner 1918– English-Canadian neuropsychologist and academic Chaim Herzog 1918–1997 Israeli general, lawyer, and politician, 6th President of Israel (born 1918) Dave Bartholomew 1918– American bandleader, composer and arranger (died 2019) George Allen 1918–1990 American football player and coach (died 1990) Guy Gibson 1918–1944 Anglo-Indian commander and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1944)

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More to explore

Nelson's birthday July 18 Nelson's zodiac Cancer When Nelson arrived 1918