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» There are more than 6.5-million search results for "Nelson Mandela" on the Google search engine and over 10-million results for "Mandela". 

» What's in a name? Madiba’s Xhosa name, Rolihlahla means 'troublemaker' and the literal meaning is 'pulling the branch of a tree'.

» At the age of sixteen, Madiba’s chosen career path was as Counsellor to the Thembu chieftancy, but on hearing that a bride had been chosen for him, he ran away to Johannesburg with the son of his guardian who was in a similar dilemma!

» Madiba’s first job was as a night watchman, guarding the entrance to a mine compound.

» At the age of 23, Madiba joined the law firm 'Whitkin, Sidelsky and Eidelman' as a clerk while he continued with his legal studies by correspondence with the University of South Africa (UNISA). He was one of the few Africans at the time to be offered an article clerk position within a White law firm.

» It was at Walter Sisulu’s house that Mandela met his first wife, Evelyn Mase. Later Walter and Albertina Sisulu were the witnesses to their marriage at the Native Commissioner’s Court in Johannesburg in 1944.

» Mandela is a person of disciplined habit and routine, his years in jail reinforced this. His disciplined diet, that of an athlete's began in the 1940s, as did early morning exercise. Nelson Mandela is up by 4.30am, irrespective of how late he has worked the previous evening. By 5am he has begun his exercise routine that lasts at least an hour. Breakfast is around 6.30, when the days newspapers are read, then the work day begins.

» Favourite foods: for breakfast Mandela favours porridge with fresh fruit and milk, and some of his favourite cooked meals are the traditionally prepared lamb and Amarhewu (fermented corn meal) and bryani.

» During his time as President, Madiba made his own bed.

» Madiba’s great-grandfather was a Thembu King, who was renowned for his skill in bringing stability to diverse Thembu clans in the early 19th century.

» Madiba has multiple honorary degrees from international universities.

» In 1994 Nelson Mandela made a total of 57 speeches and statements; these included his victory speech and inauguration speeches delivered in Pretoria and Cape Town. We have many of these speeches in our 1994 Madiba archive

» He was the 11th president of South Africa.