AP Photo/Denis FarrellNelson Mandela would have been 96 today.
The South African leader and anti-apartheid revolutionary died on Dec. 5, leaving July 18, his birthday, as an opportunity for his contributions to the advancement of global peace to be celebrated in his absence.
In honor of Mandela's legacy, social media has been packed with remembrances and tributes, many of them coming from the celebrity crowd that has practically deified Mandela, reserving an almost spiritual reverence for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was also an A-list celeb in his own right.
But first and foremost, they remember what the man himself both tried to do and managed to accomplish:
"Nelson Mandela was born into a world of unbelievable injustice, and he changed it. Imagine if all the world's people aspired to that," tweeted Ellen DeGeneres, one of many Hollywood types who took a moment to pay their respects.
"Let's draw inspiration from Madiba's example & recommit ourselves to leaving our kids a better world. #MandelaDay –mo," Michelle Obama tweeted.
"I was in awe when I met Nelson Mandela, I didn't even know all of the things he accomplished, he knew my name!" wrote boxer Evander Holyfield.
Here's a sampling of more celeb tweets:
Nelson Mandela was born into a world of unbelievable injustice, and he changed it. Imagine if all the world?s people aspired to that.
? Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) July 18, 2014Happy #MandelaDay #Time2Serve pic.twitter.com/iRXOmdYqPV
? kerry washington (@kerrywashington) July 18, 2014Today's #FridayTip is in honor of Nelson Mandela =) #MandelaDay pic.twitter.com/xHEyKHmld6
? Drew Scott (@MrDrewScott) July 18, 2014Let's draw inspiration from Madiba's example & recommit ourselves to leaving our kids a better world. #MandelaDay ?mo pic.twitter.com/ceL4CWNZ88
? The First Lady (@FLOTUS) July 18, 2014"There is no passion to be found playing small ? in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." #MandelaDay
? Katie Couric (@katiecouric) July 18, 2014This #MandelaDay, live the legacy, and vote for the world you want at http://t.co/Opt9VohJX6 pic.twitter.com/Q5sVxcrhSS
? Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) July 18, 2014Here are my memories of #NelsonMandela & the impact he has had on the world: http://t.co/gaYPBVkiSJ pic.twitter.com/Yz3js2PPLw
? Larry King (@kingsthings) July 18, 2014I was in awe when I met Nelson Mandela, I didn't even know all of the things he accomplished, he knew my name! pic.twitter.com/1ZzhStW6Uj
? Evander Holyfield (@holyfield) July 18, 2014It always seems impossible until it?s done. ? Nelson Mandela, RIP #MandelaDay
? Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) July 18, 2014"It always seems impossible until it's done." - Nelson Mandela
? Russell Simmons (@UncleRUSH) July 18, 2014The one person I could always rely on to ring me on my birthday was Nelson Mandela (it happened to be his too!) http://t.co/gtpbnUgd66
? Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 18, 2014"If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner." - Nelson Mandela.
? Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 16, 2014"When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.?- Nelson Mandela
? mia farrow (@MiaFarrow) July 15, 2014