History Today: When Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years

One of the greatest events of history took place on February 11,  1990, when South African leader and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela walked out of prison as a free man after 27 years.

We take a look at this and some other defining moments in history that took place on this day in Firstpost Explainers’ ongoing series History Today .

In 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to power in Iran after spending 15 years in exile. Meanwhile, famous American singer Whitney Houston was found dead in a hotel in Beverly Hills in 2012.

Here is a list of important events that occurred on this day.

Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years

One of the most important incidents that changed the course events in South Africa and the world eventually took place on this day. Nelson Mandela, once considered South Africa’s most wanted man, walked out of the Victor Verster Prison at 4:16 pm local time on February 11, 1990 after spending 27 years behind bars. Surrounded by a huge crowd, he walked out of jail hand-in-hand with his then wife Minnie.

But, how did he land up in prison in the first place? In 1944, 26-year-old Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC), the oldest Black political organisation in South Africa and became a leader of the party’s youth wing in Johannesburg. As deputy national president of the ANC in 1952, he championed non-violent resistance to apartheid, South Africa’s institutionalised system of racial segregation and white supremacy.

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The massacre of peaceful Black demonstraters at Sharpeville in 1960 was the turning point. This incident led him to help form a paramilitary wing within the ANC, aimed at waging guerrilla warfare against the oppressive white minority government. He was arrested in 1961 for treason and acquitted but was arrested again in 1962 for illegally leaving the country. He was put on trial in 1964 on charges of sabotage only to be convicted later.

Mandela spent the first 18 years of his 27 years in jail at the brutal Robben Island Prison where he was confined to a small cell without a bed or plumbing. He led a movement of civil disobedience at the prison that forced officials to improve conditions in the prison. He was later shifted to another place where he lived under house arrest.

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In 1989, FW de Klerk was elected as South African president. A year later, he lifted the ban on ANC and ordered Mandela’s release from prison.

Ayatollah Khomeini seized power in Iran

On this day in 1979,  Ayatollah Khomeini took control of Iran. This marked the success of the Iranian Revolution and the end of the Pahlavi dynasty leading to the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Ruhollah Khomeini was the son of an Islamic religious scholar and devoted himself to the formal study of Shia Islam. In 1941, the British and Soviet troops occupied Iran and installed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as the shah of Iran. Due to his closeness with the West, Mohammad Reza embraced many Western ideas.

Khomeini, a Shia cleric and outspoken critic of the Shah, had been exiled for years due to his opposition to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s pro-Western policies and authoritarian rule. However, growing discontent with the Shah’s regime - fuelled by economic struggles, political repression and increasing Islamic sentiment - led to mass protests throughout 1978.

Just 10 days after Khomeini’s return to a hero’s welcome on February 1, 1979, revolutionaries had overthrown the provisional government left by the Shah, who had fled Iran on January 16. By February 11, with the military declaring neutrality, power effectively transferred to Khomeini and his followers.

Whitney Houston passes away

It was on this day in 2012 that the world was shocked to learn that American singer and actor Whitney Houston had passed away at the age of 48. She was found unresponsive in the bathtub of her Beverly Hilton Hotel suite in Beverly Hills, California, just hours before she was scheduled to attend a pre-Grammy Awards party.

Houston, who rose to fame in the 1980s, had been struggling with substance abuse. Houston’s official cause of death was ruled as accidental drowning, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors.

Born in 1963 in Newark, New Jersey, Houston became one of the best-selling music artists in history with hits like “I Will Always Love You,” “Greatest Love of All,” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”

The world grieved the loss of Whitney Houston, with an outpouring of tributes from fans, fellow artists, and celebrities. She was laid to rest in Westfield, New Jersey, beside her father. Her struggles notwithstanding, she remains an unparalleled vocal powerhouse and music icon.

This Day, That Year

• In 1975, Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of the Conservative Party.

• American actress Jennifer Aniston was born on this day in 1969.

• Benito Mussolini and Pietro Gasparri signed the Lateran Treaty.