Desmond Tutu Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Updated 1451 GMT (2251 HKT) December 26, 2021

Archbishop Desmond Tutu attends an event in Cape Town, South Africa, in April 2019.
Photos: Desmond Tutu: A life in pictures
Archbishop Desmond Tutu attends an event in Cape Town, South Africa, in April 2019.
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Tutu is seen at right with other members of the editorial staff of the Normalife, a publication produced by the students of the Pretoria Bantu Normal College in South Africa. Tutu graduated from the college with a teacher certificate in 1953.
Photos: Desmond Tutu: A life in pictures
Tutu is seen at right with other members of the editorial staff of the Normalife, a publication produced by the students of the Pretoria Bantu Normal College in South Africa. Tutu graduated from the college with a teacher certificate in 1953.
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Tutu is seen with his mother-in-law, Johanna Shenxane, and his wife, Leah, in the Kagiso township west of Johannesburg, circa 1970. Tutu resigned as a teacher in 1957, protesting government restrictions on education for black children. He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1961, and in 1975 he became the first black appointed Anglican dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg.
Photos: Desmond Tutu: A life in pictures
Tutu is seen with his mother-in-law, Johanna Shenxane, and his wife, Leah, in the Kagiso township west of Johannesburg, circa 1970. Tutu resigned as a teacher in 1957, protesting government restrictions on education for black children. He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1961, and in 1975 he became the first black appointed Anglican dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg.
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Tutu and his wife have four children together: Trevor, Theresa, Naomi and Mpho.
Photos: Desmond Tutu: A life in pictures
Tutu and his wife have four children together: Trevor, Theresa, Naomi and Mpho.
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Tutu returns from a trip to the United Nations in April 1981. He was consecrated bishop of Lesotho in 1976. In 1978, he became the first black secretary general of the interdenominational South African Council of Churches.
Photos: Desmond Tutu: A life in pictures
Tutu returns from a trip to the United Nations in April 1981. He was consecrated bishop of Lesotho in 1976. In 1978, he became the first black secretary general of the interdenominational South African Council of Churches.
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Tutu receives the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize during the annual ceremony in Oslo, Norway.
Photos: Desmond Tutu: A life in pictures
Tutu receives the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize during the annual ceremony in Oslo, Norway.
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