De Klerk Lifts Ban: Mandela Freed, Apartheid Crumbles
F.W. de Klerk lifts the ban on the African National Congress and pledges to free Nelson Mandela, instantly dismantling the legal framework of apartheid. This decisive move triggers a rapid transition from minority rule to majority democracy, setting the stage for South Africa's first multiracial elections just three years later.
February 2, 1990
36 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on February 2
Alaric II published a law code in 506 that wasn't for his own people. The Visigoths had their own customs. But they ruled over millions of Romans in southern Ga…
Rodrigo of Castile marched to the Morcuera gorge near Miranda de Ebro with combined Christian forces. He was counting on the terrain — narrow passes, defensible…
Louis III rode into Saxony with the Frankish army in 880. He was 18. The Norse Great Heathen Army had been raiding the region for months, and Louis wanted them …
Otto I saved the Pope from a Roman mob, then showed up in Rome expecting payment. Pope John XII crowned him Holy Roman Emperor on February 2, 962. The title had…
Conrad II secured the crown of Burgundy after the death of his childless uncle, King Rudolf III. By absorbing this kingdom into the Holy Roman Empire, he gained…
King Stephen walked into Lincoln Castle to settle a property dispute. He walked out in chains. His own cousin, Matilda, had trapped him there with a surprise ar…
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