In 1990 Nelson Mandela was released from prison after serving a 27 years sentence. Mandela became a lawyer in 1942 and in 1944 he joined the African National Congress (ANC) which was a group campaigning for equal rights for black and white people in South Africa. In 1948 the South African Government passed new laws which separated black people from white people and this was known as ‘apartheid’. He was an admirer of Ghandi and peaceful protest, but after continued abuse of black Africans, including the massacre of un-armed black protestors, he changed tactics. Mandela became the leader of an army called ‘Umkhonto we Sizwe’ meaning 'Spear of the Nation' which was actively involved in sabotage. Mandela was arrested on the 5th of August 1962 and sentenced to 5 years. On the 12th June 1964 Mandela (while in prison) Mandela was on trial once again for a cash of weapons found in a Umkhonto we Sizwe hide out. He and his co-accused were sentenced to life imprisonment for treason and sabotage (rather than the death penalty that the prosecution wanted). Several conditional offers of release were made to Mandela by the South African Government but these were against Mandela’s beliefs and so he refused. He was finally released on this day in 1990 after changes were made, relaxing the apartheid laws.
In 1970 Japan launches its first satellite ‘Ohsumi’ and becomes the fourth ‘Space Power’ nation. The Soviet Union was the first nation in 1957 followed closely by the United States in 1958 with France as the third ‘space power’ in 1965. Japan was closely followed by China who launched Mao 1 just two months later.
In 1945 The Yalta Conference ends with the leaders of the three major ‘Allied’ nations, the United Kingdom, The United States and Russia convening to discuss how to continue after the inevitable defeat of the German war machine. It was decided that Russia would administer the countries that they had liberated but those countries would still have free elections. Germany would be divided into four zones of occupation and administered by all three main powers and France. It would also be stripped of any military powers, and all their war criminals would face trial. The United Kingdom and United States would oversee the establishment of democratic governments in other European countries such as Austria, Italy and Greece. The plans for the United Nations were also finalised which would replace the League of Nations. The UN was first established on the 24th of October that year and tasked with maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.
