On July 18, 1918, in the rolling green hills of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, a baby boy was born into the Thembu royal family. His birth name was Rolihlahla, which means 'troublemaker' in the Xhosa language. A teacher at his school later gave him the English name Nelson. Together, Nelson Mandela would grow up to make plenty of good trouble - and change a whole country.
Mandela trained as a lawyer in Johannesburg, where he was horrified by the system called apartheid, which forced Black South Africans to live separately from white people, attend separate schools, and even use separate park benches. Mandela joined the African National Congress and led peaceful protests at first. The government's response was harsh, and Mandela ended up arrested. In 1964, he was sentenced to life in prison. He spent 27 years behind bars, many of them breaking rocks on a quarry on Robben Island, refusing to give up his beliefs even when offered freedom if he stayed quiet.
When Mandela finally walked free in 1990, he didn't seek revenge. Instead, he sat down with the same government that had jailed him and helped end apartheid peacefully. In 1994, he was elected the first Black president of South Africa in the country's first fully democratic vote. He won the Nobel Peace Prize, championed schools and clinics, and inspired the world with his message of forgiveness. The United Nations declared his birthday, July 18, Nelson Mandela International Day, asking people to spend 67 minutes - one for each year he served his country - doing something kind.
