He was loved and admired the world
over, profiled in books and movies, and
showered with awards and accolades.
But even the most public of personalities
have little-known facts buried in their
biographies.
nelson-mandela
Here are 10 surprising facts you probably
didn’t know about Nelson Mandela:
1. He lived up to his name: Mandela’s
birth name was Rolihlahla. In his Xhosa
tribe, the name means pulling the
branch of a tree or troublemaker. (The
name “Nelson” was given to him by his
teacher on his first day of elementary
school. It’s not clear why she chose that
particular name. It was the 1920s, and
African children were given English
names so colonial masters could
pronounce them easily).
2. He had a cameo in a Spike Lee film:
He had a big part in Spike Lee’s 1992
biopi (Preview) c “Malcolm X.” At the
very end of the movie, he plays a
teacher reciting Malcolm X’s famous
speech to a room full of Soweto school
kids. But the pacifist Mandela wouldn’t
say “by any means necessary.” So Lee cut
back to footage of Malcolm X to close out
the film.
3. There’s a woodpecker named after
him: From Cape Town to California,
streets named after Mandela abound.
But he’s also been the subject of some
rather unusual tributes. Last year,
scientists named a prehistoric
woodpecker after him: Australopicus
nelsonmandelai. In 1973, the physics
institute at Leeds University named a
nuclear particle the ‘Mandela particle.’
4. He married a first lady: Before tying
the knot with Mandela on his 80th
birthday, Graca Machel was married to
Mozambique President Samora Machel.
Her marriage to Mandela after her
husband’s death means she has been the
first lady of two nations.
5. He was a master of disguise: When
Mandela was eluding authorities during
his fight against apartheid, he disguised
himself in various ways, including as a
chauffeur. The press nicknamed him
“the Black Pimpernel” because of his
police evasion tactics. “I became a
creature of the night. I would keep to
my hideout during the day, and would
emerge to do my work when it became
dark,” he says in his biography, “Long
Walk to Freedom.”
6. A bloody sport intrigued him: Besides
politics, Mandela’s other passion was
boxing. “I did not like the violence of
boxing. I was more interested in the
science of it – how you move your body to
protect yourself, how you use a plan to
attack and retreat, and how you pace
yourself through a fight,” he says in his
biography.
7. His favorite dish is probably not
yours: He’s been wined and dined by
world leaders. But what Mandela loved
eating most was tripe. Yup, the stomach
lining of farm animals.
8. He quit his day job: He studied law at
the University of Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg and opened the nation’s
first black law firm in the city in 1952.
9. He was on the U.S. terror watch list:
Mandela wasn’t removed from the U.S.
terror watch list until 2008 — at age 89.
He and other members of the African
National Congress were placed on it
because of their militant fight against
apartheid.
10. He drew his inspiration from a poem:
While he was in prison, Mandela would
read William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus”
to fellow prisoners. The poem, about
never giving up, resonated with Mandela
for its lines “I am the master of my
fate. I am the captain of my soul.” You
may know it from the movie by the same
name starring Morgan Freeman as
Mandela.
Source: CNN.com
over, profiled in books and movies, and
showered with awards and accolades.
But even the most public of personalities
have little-known facts buried in their
biographies.
nelson-mandela
Here are 10 surprising facts you probably
didn’t know about Nelson Mandela:
1. He lived up to his name: Mandela’s
birth name was Rolihlahla. In his Xhosa
tribe, the name means pulling the
branch of a tree or troublemaker. (The
name “Nelson” was given to him by his
teacher on his first day of elementary
school. It’s not clear why she chose that
particular name. It was the 1920s, and
African children were given English
names so colonial masters could
pronounce them easily).
2. He had a cameo in a Spike Lee film:
He had a big part in Spike Lee’s 1992
biopi (Preview) c “Malcolm X.” At the
very end of the movie, he plays a
teacher reciting Malcolm X’s famous
speech to a room full of Soweto school
kids. But the pacifist Mandela wouldn’t
say “by any means necessary.” So Lee cut
back to footage of Malcolm X to close out
the film.
3. There’s a woodpecker named after
him: From Cape Town to California,
streets named after Mandela abound.
But he’s also been the subject of some
rather unusual tributes. Last year,
scientists named a prehistoric
woodpecker after him: Australopicus
nelsonmandelai. In 1973, the physics
institute at Leeds University named a
nuclear particle the ‘Mandela particle.’
4. He married a first lady: Before tying
the knot with Mandela on his 80th
birthday, Graca Machel was married to
Mozambique President Samora Machel.
Her marriage to Mandela after her
husband’s death means she has been the
first lady of two nations.
5. He was a master of disguise: When
Mandela was eluding authorities during
his fight against apartheid, he disguised
himself in various ways, including as a
chauffeur. The press nicknamed him
“the Black Pimpernel” because of his
police evasion tactics. “I became a
creature of the night. I would keep to
my hideout during the day, and would
emerge to do my work when it became
dark,” he says in his biography, “Long
Walk to Freedom.”
6. A bloody sport intrigued him: Besides
politics, Mandela’s other passion was
boxing. “I did not like the violence of
boxing. I was more interested in the
science of it – how you move your body to
protect yourself, how you use a plan to
attack and retreat, and how you pace
yourself through a fight,” he says in his
biography.
7. His favorite dish is probably not
yours: He’s been wined and dined by
world leaders. But what Mandela loved
eating most was tripe. Yup, the stomach
lining of farm animals.
8. He quit his day job: He studied law at
the University of Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg and opened the nation’s
first black law firm in the city in 1952.
9. He was on the U.S. terror watch list:
Mandela wasn’t removed from the U.S.
terror watch list until 2008 — at age 89.
He and other members of the African
National Congress were placed on it
because of their militant fight against
apartheid.
10. He drew his inspiration from a poem:
While he was in prison, Mandela would
read William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus”
to fellow prisoners. The poem, about
never giving up, resonated with Mandela
for its lines “I am the master of my
fate. I am the captain of my soul.” You
may know it from the movie by the same
name starring Morgan Freeman as
Mandela.
Source: CNN.com
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