10 Interesting Facts About The Early Life of Nelson Mandela
1. He was born in a polygynist family of four (4) wives on July 18 1918. His mother was the third (3rd) wife and affectionately referred to as the right hand wife. His father had thirteen (13) children, four (4) sons and nine (9) daughters. He was the last son of the family as well as the first (1st) child of his mother. She would later give birth to three(3) daughters. (Page 6)
2. He was the first(1st) child of the family to attend school at the age of seven(7) which was owned by the Methodist Church or Wesleyan as it was then known. He had earlier been baptized into the Church. On his first (1st) day at school, his teacher, Miss Mdingane gave him the English name, Nelson. His native name is Rolihlahla. In Xhosa,Rolihlahla means “pulling the branch of a tree” but its colloquial meaning more accurately would be troublemaker, perhaps an indication of the battles and storms he will fight and weather in later years.(Pages 3,13 and 14)
3. His father died when he was nine(9) years old.(Page 14)
4. The name of the first(1st) girl he wooed in his life was Winnie Matyolo, not the Winnie he would later marry and divorce.(Page 24)
5. He was circumcised at the age of sixteen(16).(Page 25)
6. While he was in a school called Clarkebury Institute, also owned by the Methodist School, a female classmate by the told him that the meaning of a B.A(Bachelor of Arts) is a very long and difficult book. He didn’t doubt her because he was ignorant of what a B.A was.(Page 33 and 34)
7. He acted in a play about Abraham Lincoln while he was a student at University College, Fort Hare. He played John Wilkes Booth; Lincoln’s assassin .It was at Fort Hare he wore pyjamas for the first time, finding them uncomfortable in the beginning, but gradually growing used to them. He had never used a toothbrush and toothpaste before at home. In his words, we used ash to whiten our teeth and toothpicks to clean them. The water-flush toilets and hot-water showers were also a novelty to him. He used toilet soap for the first time not the blue detergent that he had washed with for so many years at home. He didn’t complete his studies at Fort Hare, where he voluntarily withdrew because of an altercation he had with the school authorities over his decision not to serve in the Students Representative Council. He would later acquire a B.A(Bachelor of Arts) from the University of South Africa via correspondence in 1942.(Pages 46,48,53,71 and 85)
8. He worked as a clerk in a law firm known as Witkin, Sidelsky and Eidelman. It was owned by Jews.(Page 70)
9. The name of his first(1st) wife is Evelyn Mase. Finding a place to live was their most immediate problem in the early days of their marriage. They first stayed with his wife’s brother and later stayed with the wife’s sister over a period of time. They had four(4) children with three(3) reaching adulthood. Their first(1st) son,Madiba Thembekile was born in 1946.Shortly afterwards in 1947, a daughter named Makaziwe was born but died when she was nine(9) months old. In 1950,a second(2nd) son named Makgatho Lewanika was born named in memory of Sefako Mapogo Makgatho ,the second(2nd) President of African National Congress(ANC) from 1917 to 1924 and Lewanika, a leading chief In Zambia. In 1953,Evelyn gave birth to a girl named Makaziwe in memory of the daughter the lost six(6) years earlier. The couple would later divorce in late 1957 after being separated since December 1956.The grounds of their divorce was anchored on the fact that Evelyn joined the Jehovah Witnesses sect and she could no longer stand the political and revolutionary bent of her husband. It is common knowledge that members of the Jehovah Witnesses are apolitical. Nelson would later marry Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela, later popularly known as Winnie. Their wedding took place on June 14 1958.They had two(2) daughters, Zenani and Zindziswa born on 4th February 1958 and December 1960 respectively. The younger sister was named after the daughter of the poet Laureate of the Xhosa People,Samuel Mqhayi.(Pages 119,206,215,226 and 255)
10. In August 1952,Nelson Mandela opened his law firm. A few months later he invited his bosom friend,Oliver Tambo to join him.”Mandela and Tambo” was the first (1st) black law firm in Johannesburg.(Pages 148 and 149)
Compiled from his Autobiography: Long Walk To Freedom, 1995 Paperback Edition
