Nelson Mandela through the years

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Mandela on Aug. 6, 2012, at his home in Qunu.

A statue of former South African president Nelson Mandela stands at the Drakenstein Correctional Center on Feb. 26, 2012, outside Cape Town. Mandela spent 27 years in prison before his release in 1990.

First lady Michelle Obama meets with Mandela on June 21, 2011, at his home in Johannesburg.

Workers prepare to hang an image of Mandela as they prepare for the World Cup soccer tournament on May 30, 2010, in downtown Johannesburg.

The Elders, an international group of global leaders who work together to promote peace and human rights, meet with founder Nelson Mandela on May 29, 2010, in Johannesburg.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, left, speaks with former Mandela on March 12, 2008, at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.

Mandela and former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan arrive at the 5th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture on July 22, 2007, at the Linder Auditorium in Johannesburg.

Mandela meets with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at No. 10 Downing St. on Feb. 3, 2005, in London.

Mandela speaks during a visit to his old prison cell on Nov. 28, 2003, on Robben Island near Cape Town. Mandela, arrested and sentenced to life in prison in 1962, spent 27 years at the prison before his release in 1990.

Mandela reacts to the vote of thanks from members of the African National Congress after his speech to delegates at a convention on Dec. 17, 2002, in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Mandela listens as President Bush speaks in the Rose Garden on Nov. 11, 2001. Mandela visited the White House to offer his condolences after the fatal American Airlines Flight 587 crash and to express his support for U.S. actions in Afghanistan.

Mandela greets supporters at a May 25, 1999, election rally in Sebokeng township.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro, left, shares a laugh with Mandela at the World Trade Organization meeting on May 19, 1998, in Geneva.

Mandela and Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi salute the crowd on Oct. 29, 1997, in Zuwarah, Libya.

Barney, a purple dinosaur mascot known by children around the world, is greeted by Mandela in Johannesburg on March 24, 1997.

Mandela shows the way to Princess Diana during a meeting to discuss the AIDS threat on March 17, 1997, in Cape Town.

Michael Jackson hugs Mandela at the conclusion of a brief meeting on July 20, 1996.

Mandela stands with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on July 9, 1996, at Buckingham Palace.

Nelson Mandela welcomes Pope John Paul II as the pontiff arrives for his official visit on Sept. 16, 1995, at the airport in Johannesburg. The pope's visit came seven years after he angered apartheid leaders by refusing to kiss the ground when the papal plane was forced to land because of bad weather.

Mandela gets a hug from singer Whitney Houston on Nov. 10, 1994, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa.

President Clinton listens as Mandela speaks on Oct. 4, 1994, during an arrival ceremony at the White House.

Outgoing South African President F.W. de Klerk shakes hands with President-elect Nelson Mandela on May 6, 1994, at the presidential residence in Cape Town.

Coretta Scott King and African National Congress President Mandela celebrate after Mandela's party won South Africa's first multiracial election on May 2, 1994.

Mandela delivers his victory speech to supporters on May 2, 1994, at a hotel in Johannesburg.

Mandela and de Klerk pose with their Nobel Peace Prize medals and diplomas on Dec. 10, 1993, in Oslo.

Mandela smiles after the results of a whites-only referendum on apartheid were announced on March 18, 1992, in Pretoria. Mandela said apartheid was "very much alive" in South Africa, despite white voters' stunning endorsement of plans to share power with the black majority.

United Nations delegates applaud as Mandela prepares to deliver an address to the Special Committee Against Apartheid on June 22, 1990, at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Mandela walks with his wife, Winnie, after leaving the Victor Verster Prison on Feb. 11, 1990, in Cape Town.

A July 1989 poster calls for the release of Nelson Mandela.

A television image shows Nelson Mandela with wife Winnie on their wedding day, June 14, 1958.

African National Congress youth leaders Walter Sisulu, left, Nelson Mandela and Harrison Motlana appear during the 1952 Defiance Campaign trial at the Johannesburg Supreme Court. The campaign encouraged blacks to defy apartheid laws.

African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela is pictured in 1952 in the law office he opened with his colleague, Oliver Tambo, in Johannesburg. This was the first black law practice in Johannesburg.

Mandela leaves the Intercontinental Hotel after a photo session with celebrity photographer Terry O'Neil on June 26, 2008, in London.