Family and friends were with Mandela when he died in his Johannesburg home, Fox News reported. 

He died at 8:50 p.m. local time, according to Business Insider. 

Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years because he opposed apartheid in South Africa, according to Fox.

After authorities released Mandela from prison in 1990, he continued to be a leader in removing apartheid, Business Insider said. Mandela received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for his work and became the president of South Africa in 1994. 

Since June, Mandela had been in the hospital for several months with a lung infection, Fox said.  

"Our nation has lost its greatest son," South African President Jacob Zuma said, according to Fox. "Our people have lost a father. Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss."