On July 18, 1918, Nelson Mandela was born in Mveso, Transkei, South Africa to Noqaphi Nosekeni and Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa. In Qunu he went to a school where his teacher gave him the name Nelson because of the tradition of giving children that attended the school christian names. When his father died the king of his tribe took him in as a favor to Nelson’s father, who had helped him become king of the tribe. At the University College of Fort Hare, Nelson started for a Bachelor of Arts degree, but did not finish because he participated in a boycott. The king was mad when he came back to the Great Place at Mqhekezweni and said that he would arrange marriages for Nelson and Justice, the king’s son and Nelson’s cousin. In 1941, Nelson ran away …show more content…
In 1943, he finished his BA at the University of South Africa. He returned for his graduation to Fort Hare that same year. In 1944, Mandela created the ANC Youth League and connected with the African National Congress soon afterward. Later on in the year, he married Evelyn Mase, a cousin of a man who helped Mandela in earlier years and a nurse. They had a daughter called Makaziwe, and two sons, Madiba Thembekile and Makgatho. In the Defiance Campaign, Nelson was the National Volunteer-in-Chief in 1952. Their part in a campaign against six laws got Nelson and 19 others nine months of exertion in prison. Oliver Tambo and Mandela became partners and led Mandela & Tambo, the first african american law firm in South Africa, in August 1952. On December 5, 1955, Mandela was arrested in a widespread police search. Mandela and his fellow workers were some of the thousands of people that got arrested for the Treason Trial. On June 14, 1958, Mandela married Winnie Madikizela while the trial was going on. Their daughters are Zenani and Zindziswa. On March 29, 1961, the last 28 charged, along with Mandela were freed of charges. Using the name David Motsamayi, Mandela quietly left South Africa on January 11,