Nelson Mandela dies: Watch his 1st TV interview, prison release, more

By Emily Alpert

Dec. 5, 2013 5:10 PM PT

The man who battled apartheid, spent decades in prison and emerged to become the first black president of South Africa died Thursday. As the world remembers Nelson Mandela, here are some of his most famous moments, as well as some that are lesser known:

The clip below shows Mandela upon his release from prison Feb. 11, 1990. Then-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is seen walking with him hand- in-hand as they greet television cameras and shouting crowds:

Mandela told the court at his 1964 sabotage trial that he hoped to see the realization of "the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. ... But my Lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” This audio clip of his words was distributed via YouTube by broadcaster David Tereshchuk, who credited the British Library for saving the recording for posterity:

Independent Television News billed this clip as the first televised interview with Mandela. In it, he responds to a question about whether Africans can “develop” in the nation without pushing out Europeans, saying, “We have made it very clear in our policy that South Africa is a country of many races.” He also says “the time has come to consider” whether nonviolence is adequate against the government’s “savage attacks on an unarmed and defenseless people.”

Below, a brief Huntley Film Archives clip gives another glimpse of Mandela before his arrest. Huntley writes that the 1950s footage of Mandela in a township is "extremely rare:"

After his historic election as president, Mandela urged in his 1994 inaugural address that “the time for the healing of the wounds has come.” This YouTube clip shows the entire speech:

The United Nations assembled this montage of Mandela appearing before the body, including speeches dating back to 1990. In one clip, he tells then-U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, “You have made my day.” Annan demurs, “No, you have made my day.”