How Well Do You Know the Life of Mandela?

Nelson Mandela's story is, of course, widely known. But how well do you know the details? Where was his hometown? What year was he released from prison? 

Test your knowledge with these tricky questions...

1993 - 1997 or 1994 - 1999?

Mandela's inauguration in 1994 was a momentous occasion. He was South Africa's first black President and also the country's first leader elected in a fully representative election. 

Mvezo or Mqhekezweni?

Mandela was born on July 18th, 1918, in the village of Mvezo in the Cape Province of South Africa. His given first-name was 'Rolihlahla', meaning 'troublemaker'!

Lawyer or Security Guard?

Though his legal career began soon after his arrival in Johannesburg, the young Mandela's first job in South Africa's capital was as a night-watchman at Crown Mines. He was fired when his boss discovered that he had run away from an arranged marriage at home.

1952 or 1944?

In 1944, Mandela was studying law at Witwatersrand as the university's only black African student. His experiences of racism during his studies, and the visible segregation of black South Africans in Johannesburg, influenced his increasingly political activity, and that year he helped found the youth wing of the African National Congress. Politics took precedence over his studies, and he failed his final year three times, eventually earning his degree in 1989 whilst incarcerated at Victor Verster prison.

Was it the first law firm in Soweto, or was it the only  black law firm in Johannesburg in the 1950s?

Mandela and his friend, the anti-apartheid politician Oliver Tambo, founded the firm in 1952, and worked tirelessly for the legal rights of black South Africans in the face of systemic oppression. 

Six or four?

Mandela was married three times (here he is with his second wife, Winnie) and fathered six children, several of whom also became engaged in South African politics and law.

At Park Station or at Howick?

February 11th 1990 or February 17th 1991?

After serving 27 years in three different prisons, Mandela was released from Victor Verster. The culmination of his long walk to freedom was a national and global moment of celebration, and paved the way for his triumphant and progressive Presidency.

FW De Clerk or Walter Sisulu?

The outgoing president when Mandela came to power in 1994, De Klerk is a controversial figure, but was nonetheless instrumental in negotiating the end of South African apartheid with Mandela.

Give his first public address or vote for the first time?

For Mandela, as for all black South Africans, April 27th, 1994 marked the first time he could legally vote in a presidential election. He, of course, won the election, and the rest is history!