Remembering Greatness: Happy Birthday, Madiba Music: Stevie Wonder " I Just Called To Say I Love You" In 1985, Stevie Wonder won the Oscar for his song "I Just Called To Say I Love You" and dedicated it to Nelson Mandela. Remembering "Madiba“ Nelson Mandela raises a clenched fist to supporters in Mmabatho, South Africa, upon his arrival for his first election rally, March 15, 1994. The anti-apartheid fighter who spent 27 years as a political prisoner before becoming his nation's first democratic leader - and first black president - died at home in Johannesburg on Thursday, December 5, 2013. He was 95. South African President Jacob Zuma announced Mandela's death in an address to the nation, saying, "We've lost our greatest son." Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, into a royal family of the Xhosa-speaking Thembu tribe in the South African village of Mvezo. While studying law as a young man, he became involved in the movement against racial discrimination, forging key relationships with black and white activists and in 1944 he joined the African National Congress (ANC) and helped establish its youth league, the ANCYL. Mandela’s commitment to activism intensified after the 1948 introduction of the apartheid. 1957 Nelson Mandela and his second wife, Winnie, at their wedding in 1957. This copy was taken from the family album; the original was by Alf Khumalo. 1961 A 1961 photo of Nelson Mandela, then 42 years old. The son of a minor chieftain, Mandela took his degree in law at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and embarked on a career as political activist. Visit to London: Nelson Mandela visited the capital of the UK in 1962 to visit Oliver Tambo - a fellow anti-apartheid activist - visible in the background is the Big Ben clocktower and the Houses of Parliament [...]... prison car, after being sentenced to life imprisonment The eight men were accused of conspiracy, sabotage and treason 1988 Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, standing with her grandson Ntsika, addresses a 70th birthday commemoration for the jailed anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, in Johannesburg July 18, 1988 1990 A young man holds up a newspaper announcing that the African National Congress is "unbanned," . Remembering Greatness: Happy Birthday, Madiba Music: Stevie Wonder " I Just Called To Say I Love You" In. his song "I Just Called To Say I Love You" and dedicated it to Nelson Mandela. Remembering "Madiba“ Nelson Mandela raises a clenched fist to supporters in Mmabatho, South. treason. 1988 Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, standing with her grandson Ntsika, addresses a 70th birthday commemoration for the jailed anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, in Johannesburg July