Mandela and MLK: What They Had in Common

See what the two iconic figures had in common.

Fighters - While Martin Luther King Jr. fought the evils of racism and racial segregation in the United States, Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to fighting South Africa’s system of racism and segregation called apartheid. (Photos from left: AP Photo/Peter Dejong, file, Reg Lancaster/Express/Getty Images)

1 / 8

Fighters - While Martin Luther King Jr. fought the evils of racism and racial segregation in the United States, Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to fighting South Africa’s system of racism and segregation called apartheid. (Photos from left: AP Photo/Peter Dejong, file, Reg Lancaster/Express/Getty Images)

Name Dropping - There are more than 900 streets named after Martin Luther King Jr. around the world. Nelson Mandela has had more than 85 streets named after him, in addition to more than 25 schools, universities and educational institutions.(Photo: Giorgio Fochesato/Getty Images)

2 / 8

Name Dropping - There are more than 900 streets named after Martin Luther King Jr. around the world. Nelson Mandela has had more than 85 streets named after him, in addition to more than 25 schools, universities and educational institutions.(Photo: Giorgio Fochesato/Getty Images)

Cell Mates - Both King and Mandela were jailed for their beliefs and activism. King famously wrote his Letter From a Birmingham Jail while detained in Alabama and Mandela spent 27 years in prison for treason.(Photo: RDA/Getty Images, Reuters/Landov)

3 / 8

Cell Mates - Both King and Mandela were jailed for their beliefs and activism. King famously wrote his Letter From a Birmingham Jail while detained in Alabama and Mandela spent 27 years in prison for treason.(Photo: RDA/Getty Images, Reuters/Landov)

Photo By Photo: RDA/Getty Images

Iconic Spouses - Although Nelson Mandela was married three times over the course of his life, his second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (left), came to be known as a freedom fighter in her own right.Martin Luther King Jr.’s wife, Coretta Scott King (right), also became an iconic figure in the civil rights movement.(Photo: Reuters/International Defence and Aid Fund, J. Wilds/Keystone/Getty Images)

4 / 8

Iconic Spouses - Although Nelson Mandela was married three times over the course of his life, his second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (left), came to be known as a freedom fighter in her own right.Martin Luther King Jr.’s wife, Coretta Scott King (right), also became an iconic figure in the civil rights movement.(Photo: Reuters/International Defence and Aid Fund, J. Wilds/Keystone/Getty Images)

Each Man Has a Day - Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed the third Monday of January each year, and the Nelson Mandela International Day of Service is observed on his birthday, July 18, each year.(Photos from left: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Reuters/Alexander Joe/Pool)

5 / 8

Each Man Has a Day - Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed the third Monday of January each year, and the Nelson Mandela International Day of Service is observed on his birthday, July 18, each year.(Photos from left: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Reuters/Alexander Joe/Pool)

ADVERTISEMENT
Family Men - Martin Luther King Jr. was a doting father to his four children, Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter and Bernice.Nelson Mandela had a huge family. He had four children (three are still alive, Makaziwe, Zenani and Zindzi) and many grandchildren. Although he was in jail for many years, Mandela kept in touch with his family through regular visits.(Photo: AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, File)

6 / 8

Family Men - Martin Luther King Jr. was a doting father to his four children, Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter and Bernice.Nelson Mandela had a huge family. He had four children (three are still alive, Makaziwe, Zenani and Zindzi) and many grandchildren. Although he was in jail for many years, Mandela kept in touch with his family through regular visits.(Photo: AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, File)

Multiracial Vision - Nelson Mandela’s work was sustained by his unshakeable belief in equality for all people. Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophies were based on his dream of living in a country where skin color is no barrier to success or freedom. (Photo: AP Photo/File, Walter Dhaldhla/AFP/Getty Images)

7 / 8

Multiracial Vision - Nelson Mandela’s work was sustained by his unshakeable belief in equality for all people. Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophies were based on his dream of living in a country where skin color is no barrier to success or freedom. (Photo: AP Photo/File, Walter Dhaldhla/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: AP Photo/File

Preserved in History - The historical record of Nelson Mandela’s legacy is maintained by the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory in Johannesburg, South Africa. Martin Luther King Jr.’s archives are preserved at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta.(Photo: Reuters/Howard Burditt, AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

8 / 8

Preserved in History - The historical record of Nelson Mandela’s legacy is maintained by the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory in Johannesburg, South Africa. Martin Luther King Jr.’s archives are preserved at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta.(Photo: Reuters/Howard Burditt, AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)