18 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Nelson Mandela

15. Mandela Received More Than 260 Worldwide Awards... Including Honorary Degrees From More Than 50 Universities

As one of the great humanitarians of the 20th Century, understandably universities, award groups and other organisations have rushed to bestow honours upon Nelson Mandela - making the South African possibly the most-decorated person in history with more than 260 awards. Most notable is of course the Nobel Peace Prize he won jointly in 1993 with then South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk "for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa". But more than 50 universities worldwide have bestowed honorary degrees upon Mandela - with him receiving 115 in all - and close to 100 statues, sculptures and artworks have been constructed in his image or dedicated to him. The nine-metre high bronze statue of Mandela unveiled at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, is possibly the most impressive of all the dedications, while in July 2009 the United Nations General Assembly announced that Mandela's birthday, July 18th, would be known as "Mandela Day".