Although this may be his day, the acts of anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela are appreciated and honoured every day. In order to reflect on where this historical man has come from and what he has been through, we’ve adapted this venture into history, thanks to Time World.

From his birth in 1918 to becoming the father of our nation, we thank you Madiba, Happy Birthday!

Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in the village of Mviza in South Africa’s Eastern Cape.

Mandela and other co-defendants appear at the famous Treason Trial in Johannesburg, 1956. Mandela, along with his longtime ally Oliver Thambo and 154 others were charged with treason.

Mandela, center, stands amid a gathering of other co-defendants during the Treason Trial.

Mandela sews prison clothes by the shore in 1964 on Robben Island.

Winnie Mandela stands by a portrait of her then husband in their Soweto home, 1985.

In the Athlone neighborhood of Cape Town, regime police use horsewhips against protesters demonstrating in support of the jailed Mandela. Ruthless crackdowns, mass protests and bouts of insurgent violence across the country’s townships captured the world’s attention and generated international support against the apartheid state.

 Mandela walks with his wife Winnie after being released from prison, Feb. 11, 1990.

Nelson and Winnie Mandela watch a performance at a homecoming party after his release from prison. Feb 23, 1990.

In 1993, Mandela is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside then South African President F.W. de Klerk.

Mandela greets the crowds on the campaign trail in February 1994 as South Africa readies for its first all-race general election.

Mandela supporters perch on a billboard in Durban, April 1994.

Surrounded by bodyguards, Mandela celebrates his triumph in the April elections, and prepares to assemble South Africa’s first multi-racial government.

Mandela, 75, takes the oath of office in the political capital Pretoria as the first democratically elected President of South Africa.

Mandela tours Cape Town’s Eerste River township in November 2000. The year before, he opted to not contest for re-election, giving way to his party deputy Thabo Mbeki.

Mandela addresses a conference on AIDS in Durban, July 2000. Mandela is credited with breaking the conspiracy of silence that surrounding the disease in his home country.

[Source: Time]