A few weeks ago I decided to do a column that takes a look back on events that happen on that specific date. It was surprising; the day I picked to do it on had many significant events of importance all the way from the first election in United States history to the Harlem Globetrotters taking the court for the first time.

I mainly did it because history is interesting to me, and another reason is the quote “those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”

I decided to check it out Feb. 11 in history and it holds the anniversary of a monumental moment in human history. On this day in 1990, Nelson Mandela walked out of Robben Island Prison in South Africa after 27 years as a political prisoner and the rest is history.

Mandela was jailed for speaking out against the oppressive minority government that ruled South Africa. 27 years later, after his release he immediately began working on ending the apartheid and creating a multiracial government.

Although his political career ended in 1999, he firmly planted his legacy as a civil rights champion that worked for equal rights and peace for all.

Aside from Mandela getting out, a bit of more localized history took place on this day in 1776. At the onset of the Revolutionary War, Georgia was the most loyal colony to the English crown. Patriots placed Georgia’s royal governor, Sir James Wright, under house arrest because of his loyalist policies.

On Feb. 11, 1776, he escaped his home in Savannah and boarded a British ship waiting at the mouth of the Savannah River and made it back to London. He then returned to retake Savannah in 1778.

Also an iconic pop culture made his first appearance on Feb. 10, 1972. David Bowie’s character Ziggy Stardust took the stage in London. Bowie, a little-known musician at the time, brought theater to the stage and changed pop performances forever with the celestial rock star character.