Nelson Mandela

This archive was created by South African History Online (SAHO) to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday on 18 July 2008. We launched this project on 26 June 2008, a significant date in Mandela’s life as 26 June was celebrated by the ANC and other liberation organizations as ‘Freedom Day’, until the first democratic elections in April 1994.

Mandela's name resonates with the struggle for independence and social, economic, political and institutional rights of Black people. The commemoration of his birth this year is a fitting tribute to a hero who has won the Nobel Peace Prize and several other accolades, and whose gallantry in the face of adversity and commitment to freedom is impeccable. He was an indisputable revolutionary war leader who endured arrest, trial and incarceration on Robben Island. Whilst in prison he wrote numerous correspondences which helped keep the revolution alive.

Madiba did not achieve greatness alone; he was influenced and supported by many people who worked alongside him during the struggle. We recognise, as Mandela has, that his achievements would not have been possible without the influence and support of his comrades in the struggle for Freedom. Therefore, SAHO is launching a project that over the next year will publish a full history of this great South African, as well as histories of the movements and comrades that helped build his legacy.