1956 – the year Mr Mandela was charged with high treason.
156 – the number of activists arrested at the time.
4 – the number of years that Mr Mandela’s trial lasted, before charges were finally dropped.
1958 – the year in which Mr Mandela and Evelyn Mase divorced, and in which he married Winnie Madikizela.
1960 – the year in which the ANC were officially outlawed, prompting Mr Mandela to go underground.
1962 – the year Mr Mandela was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment for high treason and conspiracy against the state.
46664 – Mr Mandela’s prison number
1964 – the year Mr Mandela was moved to the notorious Robben Island prison.
1982 – the year Mr Mandela was moved to prison on the mainland, where stayed until his releases.
27 – the number of years Mr Mandela spent in prison.
February 11 1990 – the date on which Mr Mandela was finally released from prison.
1993 – the year in which Mr Mandela (along with with FW de Klerk) won the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded on December 10.
1994 – the year Mr Mandela was elected to become South Africa’s first black president.
1996 – the year Mr Mandela divorced Winnie Mandela.
80 – Mr Mandela’s age when he married his third wife, Graça Machel, July 18 1998 (his 80th birthday).
1999 – the year he stepped down as president.
85 – the age at which Mr Mandela retired from public life (in 2004).
July 18 2009 – the date that the first official Nelson Mandela International Day was inaugurated by the United Nations, on Mr Mandela’s 91st birthday.
278 – the number of awards, honours and other recognitions bestowed upon Nelson Mandela during his lifetime.
December 5 2013 – Mr Mandela passes away, at home in Johannesburg, aged 95.