Personal
Birth
date: October 7,
1931
Birth
place: Klerksdorp,
Transvaal, South Africa
Birth
name: Desmond Mpilo Tutu
Father:
Zachariah Tutu, schoolteacher
Mother:
Aletta Tutu, domestic servant
Marriage:
Nomalizo Leah (Shenxane) Tutu (July 2, 1955-present)
Children:
Trevor, Theresa, Naomi and Mpho
Education:
Bantu Normal Teacher's College, Pretoria, 1953, South Africa; University of
South Africa, Johannesburg, B.A, 1954; St. Peter's Theological College,
Johannesburg, South Africa, 1960
Religion:
Anglican
Sometimes referred to as "the Arch."
Chaired South Africa's post-apartheid Truth and
Reconciliation Commission.
1954-1957
-
Teaches school, and resigns in protest of government restrictions on education
for black children.
1961
-
Is ordained an Anglican priest.
1975
-
Becomes the first black appointed Anglican dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in
Johannesburg.
1976
-
Is consecrated Bishop of Lesotho.
1978 - Becomes the first black secretary general
of the interdenominational South African Council of Churches.
1984
-
Becomes the second South African, after Chief Albert Lutuli, to win the Nobel
Peace Prize for efforts to end apartheid.
1986
-
Is elected Archbishop of Cape Town, becoming the head of the Anglican Church in
South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho.
1995
-
Is selected by South African President Nelson Mandela to chair the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission.
1996
-
Retires as the Archbishop of Cape Town and becomes Archbishop Emeritus.
1997
-
Is diagnosed with prostate cancer and treated at hospitals in the United
States.
1998
-
Establishes the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust.
1998-2000
-
Visiting professor of theology at Emory University in Atlanta.
2002
-
Visiting professor at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
March
2003 - Presents the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission's final report to South African President Thabo Mbeki.
July
18, 2007 - Former President Mandela announces the
formation of The Elders, a group of elder statesmen from around the world that
will work to solve global problems. Among the members of the group are Tutu,
former US President Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, Mary Robinson and Ela Bhatt.
September
30, 2007 - Tutu leads The Elders on their first mission, to
Darfur in Sudan.
July
30, 2009 - Is awarded the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom
by US President Barack Obama.
October
2011 - Tutu harshly criticizes the South African
government for failing to issue a visa to the Dalai Lama. He accuses the
government of pandering to China and in some ways being worse than the
apartheid-era governments.
October
3, 2011 - "Tutu: The Authorised Portrait" is
published to coincide with Tutu's 80th birthday. The book, written by his
daughter Mpho and Allister Sparks, contains personal writings as well as
anecdotes by people including Richard Branson, Bono, the Dalai Lama, Mandela
and others.
September
2, 2012 - In an op-ed published by The Observer newspaper,
Tutu says that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former US President
George W. Bush should be "made to answer" at the International
Criminal Court for their actions during the Iraq War.
October
4, 2012 - Tutu is awarded $1 million by the Mo Ibrahim
Foundation for "his lifelong commitment to speaking truth to power."
December
3, 2012 - A children's book called "Desmond and the
Very Mean Word" is published.
2013
-
The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation is established in Cape Town.
April
4, 2013 - Tutu is awarded the 2013 Templeton Prize for his
"life-long work in advancing spiritual principles such as love and
forgiveness which has helped to liberate people around the world." The
prize is worth about $1.7 million dollars.
April
24-29, 2013 - Tutu is hospitalized to undergo tests
for a persistent infection, according to his foundation.
July
14-21, 2015 - Tutu is admitted to a Cape Town,
South Africa, hospital to be treated for a persistent infection.
August
18, 2015 - Tutu is hospitalized for an inflammation
unrelated to his previous infection. He is released on September 4, 2015.
August
24, 2016 - Tutu admits himself to a Cape Town hospital to be
treated for a recurring infection.
September
7, 2016 - Tutu undergoes surgery to address recurring
infections affecting his health.
September
17-21, 2016 - Tutu is readmitted to a South African
hospital after he shows signs of infection following his recent surgery.
October
6, 2016 - The day before his 85th birthday, he writes an
op-ed in The Washington Post supporting the right to die with dignity.
"Dying people should have the right to choose how and when they leave
Mother Earth. I believe that, alongside the wonderful palliative care that
exists, their choices should include a dignified assisted death."
December
4, 2019 - Archbishop Emeritus Tutu has been admitted to
hospital for "treatment of a stubborn infection," according to a
statement released by the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation. On
December 9, the foundation says Tutu has been discharged from the hospital.