South African icon, Desmond Tutu died on Sunday at the age of 90.
Below are ten things to know about the anti-apartheid icon:
- He was born October 7, 1931, in Klerksdorp, west of
Johannesburg. - Tutu initially trained as a teacher but he began studying
theology after having taught at a high school for three years
and was ordained as a priest in 1960. - Tutu coined and popularised the term “Rainbow Nation” to
describe South Africa when Mandela became president. - Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for
combatting white minority rule in South Africa. - He was the first black Archbishop of Cape Town and bishop
of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the
Anglican Church of Southern Africa). - After the fall of apartheid, Tutu headed the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission. - Other international accolades he received include the Albert
Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism in 1986; the Pacem in
Terris Award in 1987; the Sydney Peace Prize in 1999; the
Gandhi Peace Prize in 2007; and the Presidential Medal of
Freedom in 2009. - He retired as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1996 and was
made emeritus Archbishop of Cape Town, an honorary title
that is unusual in the Anglican church. - In 1997, Tutu was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had
undergone repeated treatment. - Tutu is survived by his wife Leah and their marriage was
blessed with four children.
