2013 — Nelson Mandela Dies

On December 5, 2013, Nelson Mandela died at his home in Johannesburg at the age of 95, and the world mourned. The anti-apartheid icon had spent twenty-seven years in prison, then became South Africa's first Black president — a journey from prisoner to head of state that few lives in any century have matched.

Flags flew at half-mast across the planet as millions remembered Madiba's legacy. He had become a global symbol of reconciliation, a man who emerged from decades behind bars to lead the country that had jailed him. His death closed a life that had changed South Africa, and the grief that followed showed how far beyond its borders his example had reached.