Nelson Mandela Dead at 95

Nelson Mandela is dead at age 95, the president of South Africa told the world today. "Our nation has lost its greatest son," Jacob Zuma announced to his nation, as quoted by CNN. "Our people have lost a father." The anti-apartheid icon had been in failing health and spent about 3 months in the hospital with a lung infection earlier this year. "He is now resting," said Zuma. "He is now at peace." Zuma ordered all flags in the nation to be flown at half-staff.

"What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human," said Zuma. "We saw in him what we seek in ourselves." (President Obama declared that he "belongs to the ages.") Mandela spent 27 years in prison after being convicted of treason, but he emerged to become president of South Africa in 1994 and brought about the end of apartheid, recounts the New York Times. Mandela will get a state funeral, though no details were immediately available. Click to see images of Mandela through the years. (More Nelson Mandela stories.)