[quote]World leaders and human rights activists from around the globe mourned the death of South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela on Thursday, praising the long-ailing 95-year-old as an inspiration to the abused and downtrodden worldwide. "We've lost our greatest son," South African President Jacob Zuma said in announcing Mandela's death, which occurred at 8:50 p.m. at Mandela's home in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton. At the White House, President Obama praised Mandela as an inspiration and a paragon of moral strength "that all of humanity should aspire to." PHOTOS: Nelson Mandela through the years "Like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set. And so long as I live, I will do what I can to learn from him," Obama said of the man whom he met only once, in Washington in 2005. Mandela was too ill to receive visitors during the president's June visit to Africa. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-mooncalled Mandela "a singular figure on the global stage -- a man of quiet dignity and towering achievement, a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration." British Prime Minister David Cameron sent condolences via Twitter: "A great light has gone out in the world. Nelson Mandela was a hero of our time. I've asked for the flag at No10 to be flown at half mast." VIDEO: Mandela's journey and legacy No. 10 is the address of the prime minister's official residence in London. Former President Clinton, whose presidency coincided with Mandela's historic evolution from political prisoner to head of state, lamented the loss of "one of [the world's] most important leaders and one of its finest human beings." On Capitol Hill, politicians from both sides of the aisle were united in lauding the revered freedom fighter as a man who transformed not only South Africa but also the world. PHOTOS: Notable deaths of 2013 "Nelson Mandela taught us about humanity in the face of inhumanity, and left an unjust world a more just place," said Sen. Robert Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "He ended apartheid and united a nation, while demonstrating almost supernatural gifts of inner strength, forgiveness and reconciliation. Few individuals in human history can truly claim a legacy of peace and perseverance like Mandela can." Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, in a tribute posted on Twitter, hailed Mandela as "an unsurpassed healer of human hearts." "It is hard to overstate Nelson Mandela's transformative impact on his country and the world," said U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, the Delaware Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on African affairs. "The lesson of his personal determination in the face of decades of imprisonment and oppression, followed by his unwavering grace and forgiveness towards his former captors, is one of the great reconciliation stories in human history." [/quote] This is really saddening. Mandela was one of my favorite people, period. At least, though, he lived an exceptionally long and successful life. Rest in Peace, Nelson. You will surely be remembered.