Nelson Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and political leader. A Xhosa, in the 1940s he joined the African National Congress (ANC) party and campaigned against the white-only government's system of apartheid, a form of racial segregation that privileged whites. An African nationalist and socialist, in 1961 he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe, which led a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government. He was arrested in 1962, convicted of conspiring to overthrow the state, and imprisoned for 27 years. Released in 1990 amid growing ethnic strife and violence, he became leader of the ANC and helped negotiate an end to apartheid with President F. W. de Klerk. In the country's first multi- racial election, in 1994, he was elected President of South Africa. His administration stressed racial reconciliation and measures to alleviate poverty. He retired in 1999 to focus on philanthropic causes. Controversial throughout much of his life, in South Africa he is widely regarded as the "Father of the Nation".
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1806:
A gunpowder magazine explosion in Birgu, Malta, killed around 200 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1806_Birgu_polverista_explosion
1949:
Francisco Javier Arana, Chief of the Armed Forces of Guatemala, was killed in a shootout with supporters of President Juan José Arévalo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Javier_Arana
1966:
Angered by racism and poverty, African American residents of the Hough neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, began to riot for six days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hough_riots
2014:
Silvio Berlusconi, the former Prime Minister of Italy, who had previously been found guilty of paying for an underage prostitute, had his conviction overturned on appeal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi_prostitute_trial
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
prowess: 1. (uncountable) Skillfulness and manual ability; adroitness or dexterity. 2. (uncountable) Distinguished bravery or courage, especially in battle; heroism. 3. (countable) An act of prowess. An act of adroitness or dexterity. An act of distinguished bravery or courage; a heroic deed. 4. An act of adroitness or dexterity. 5. An act of distinguished bravery or courage; a heroic deed. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prowess
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed. We have not taken the final step of our journey, but the first step on a longer and even more difficult road. For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. The true test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning. I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended. --Nelson Mandela https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela