Timeline and pictures: milestones in life of South Africa’s Nelson Mandela

1956 - ANC supporters give the thumb up as a prison van with anti-apartheid militants go to Johannesburg’s courthouse, 28 December 1956. 152 anti-apartheid militants, in which Nelson Mandela, are on trial in Johannesburg. AFP PHOTO

1957: South African anti-apartheid leader and African National Congress (ANC) member Nelson Mandela posing with his wife Winnie during their wedding. AFP PHOTO

1961: Nelson Mandela. AFP PHOTO

Circa 1964: Nelson Mandela, President of the African National Congress, left, in discussion with C Andrews, a Cape Town teacher. Three Lions / Getty Images

June 12, 1964: Winnie Mandela, right, waits in vain for a glimpse of her husband, Nelson Mandela, outside the Palace of Justice in Pretoria. AP Photo

June 16, 1964: A pictures shows eight men, among them Nelson Mandela, sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia trial leaving the Palace of Justice in Pretoria with their fists raised in defiance through the barred windows of the prison car. AFP

A man washing a ‘Free Mandela’ slogan off the side of King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, UK. Peter Dunne / Getty Images

February 02, 1990: A young man holds a local newspaper in Cape Town announcing that ANC is unbanned, during a demonstration of anti-Apartheid marchers demanding the release of all the political prisoners in South Africa. AFP PHOTO

February. 13, 1990: Mandela salutes to 120,000 ANC supporters packing Soccer City stadium in the Soweto, shortly after his release from 27 years in prison. AP Photo

February 13, 1990: Nelson Mandela and Winnie Mandela give salutes as they enter Soccer City stadium in the Soweto. Udo Weitz / AP Photo

March 12, 1990: Mandela, left and Oliver Tambo meet for the first time after 28 years in Stockholm, Sweden. Anders Holmstroem / Reuters

June 22, 1990: Mandela in New York, raising his arms over his head as he receives applause at the United Nations. Mandela urged the UN to maintain sanctions against South Africa until apartheid is abolished. AFP

August 6, 1990: Former South African President Nelson Mandela, representing the African National Congress (ANC), begins peace talks known as the ‘Pretoria Minute’ with incumbent State President FW de Klerk at the Presidency in Pretoria, South Africa. EPA

October 4, 1990, Mandela hugs a young Sowetan girl during his visit to the township near Johannesburg.

December 14, 1990: African National Congress (ANC) President Oliver Tambo (C), ANC deputy president Nelson Mandela (L) and Winnie Mandela (R) attend Tambo’s first ANC conference in South Africa after 30 years in exile in Soweto. Mandela in 1952 opened the first black law practice in Johannesburg with Oliver Tambo. Trevor Samson / AFP Photo

May 15, 1992: Mandela shakes hands with South Africa’s President FW de Klerk in Johannesburg, after the first day of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA).

December 10, 1993: South African President FW de Klerk, right, and Mandela, left, hold up medals and certificates after they were jointly awarded the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo. Reuters

May 10, 1994: Mandela takes the presidential oath during his inauguration at the Union Building in Pretoria. Mandela was elected president at the first session of the country’s post-apartheid parliament. Walter Dhladhla / AFP Photo

February 24, 1994, Mandela waves to the crowd as he enters Roodepan township in Kimberley during an electoral meeting. Guy Tillim / AFP Photo

April 27, 1994: A long line of people wait outside the polling station in Soweto to vote in South Africa’s first all-race elections. Denis Farrell / AP Photo

Nelson Mandela, the father of democratic South Africa and the towering international symbol of racial tolerance, has died at the age of 95. Here is a timeline and pictures of his life.

July 18, 1918: Born in the village of Mvezo in South Africa's southeastern Transkei region.

1925: Begins school near the village of Qunu, where he is given the name Nelson by a teacher who insists all pupils have a Christian name.

1939: Enrolls for a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University College of Fort Hare in the eastern town of Alice.

1940: Expelled from Fort Hare for joining a protest boycott.

1941: Moves to Johannesburg to escape an arranged marriage. Works briefly as a nightwatchman at a mine. Starts work as trainee lawyer at law firm Witkin, Sidelsky & Eidelman.

1942: Completes a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of South Africa.

1943: Joins the African National Congress, or ANC; enrols for a law degree at the University of Witwatersrand.

1944: Co-founds the ANC Youth League. Marries Evelyn Mase, with whom he has four children.

1951: Elected president of the ANC Youth League.

1952: Arrested for violating laws aimed at suppressing communism and is sentenced to nine months imprisonment with hard labour, suspended for two years. Opens South Africa's first black law firm with Oliver Tambo. Elected ANC deputy president.

1956: Arrested and charged with treason, along with 155 others. All are acquitted.

1958: Divorces Evelyn Mase and marries Nomzamo Winnie Madikizela, with whom he has two daughters.

1960: Detained following the banning of the ANC and the imposition of a state of emergency.

1961: Goes underground, helps co-found the ANC's military wing and is appointed its commander-in-chief.

1962: Leaves the country for military training and is arrested upon his return.

1963: Convicted of incitement and leaving the country illegally. Sentenced to five years imprisonment. Later also charged with sabotage.

1964: Convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Sent to Robben Island prison off the coast of Cape Town.

1982: Transferred from Robben Island to Pollsmoor prison in Cape Town. Rejects then-President P.W. Botha's offer to free him if he renounces violence. Undergoes prostate surgery.

1988: Contracts tuberculosis. Transferred to Victor Verster prison, outside Cape Town.

Feb. 11, 1990: Released from prison, following a 27-year incarceration.

1990: Elected ANC deputy president.

1991: Elected ANC president.

1993: Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with then-President F.W. de Klerk.

April 27, 1994: Votes for the first time in his life in South Africa's first democratic election.

May 10, 1994: Inaugurated as president.

1996: Divorces Winnie Mandela.

1998: Marries Graca Machel on his 80th birthday.

1999: Steps down after one term as president.

2001: Diagnosed with prostate cancer.

2002: Begins global campaign to fight Aids.

2004: Announces he will be stepping down from public life.

2005: Reveals that his eldest son, Makgatho, died of an AIDS-related illness.

2008: Celebrates his 90th birthday.

2010: Makes rare public appearance at the final of the football World Cup, which is staged in Africa for the first time.

2011: Admitted to hospital following acute respiratory infection, and is discharged after a two-night stay.

February 2012: Undergoes exploratory surgery for an abdominal complaint.

December 2012: Admitted to Pretoria hospital to undergo treatment for a lung infection and have gallstones removed, and is discharged after 19 days.

March 2013: Readmitted to hospital for treatment for pneumonia and is discharged after 10 days.

June 8, 2013: Returns to hospital to receive treatment for recurring lung infection.

December 5, 2013: Dies peacefully at home

* Bloomberg News