( CNN ) -- He was loved and admired the world over , profiled in books and movies , and showered with awards and accolades . But even the most public of personalities have little-known facts buried in their biographies . Here are 10 surprising facts you probably did n't know about Nelson Mandela : . 1 . He lived up to his name : Mandela 's birth name was Rolihlahla . In his Xhosa tribe , the name means pulling the branch of a tree or troublemaker . ( The name `` Nelson '' was given to him by his teacher on his first day of elementary school . It 's not clear why she chose that particular name . It was the 1920s , and African children were given English names so colonial masters could pronounce them easily ) . 2 . He had a cameo in a Spike Lee film : He had a big part in Spike Lee 's 1992 biopic `` Malcolm X . '' At the very end of the movie , he plays a teacher reciting Malcolm X 's famous speech to a room full of Soweto school kids . But the pacifist Mandela would n't say `` by any means necessary . '' So Lee cut back to footage of Malcolm X to close out the film . 3 . There 's a woodpecker named after him : From Cape Town to California , streets named after Mandela abound . But he 's also been the subject of some rather unusual tributes . Last year , scientists named a prehistoric woodpecker after him : Australopicus nelsonmandelai . In 1973 , the physics institute at Leeds University named a nuclear particle the 'Mandela particle . ' 4 . He married a first lady : Before tying the knot with Mandela on his 80th birthday , Graca Machel was married to Mozambique President Samora Machel . Her marriage to Mandela after her husband 's death means she has been the first lady of two nations . 5 . He was a master of disguise : When Mandela was eluding authorities during his fight against apartheid , he disguised himself in various ways , including as a chauffeur . The press nicknamed him `` the Black Pimpernel '' because of his police evasion tactics . `` I became a creature of the night . I would keep to my hideout during the day , and would emerge to do my work when it became dark , '' he says in his biography , `` Long Walk to Freedom . '' 6 . A bloody sport intrigued him : Besides politics , Mandela 's other passion was boxing . `` I did not like the violence of boxing . I was more interested in the science of it - how you move your body to protect yourself , how you use a plan to attack and retreat , and how you pace yourself through a fight , '' he says in his biography . 7 . His favorite dish is probably not yours : He 's been wined and dined by world leaders . But what Mandela loved eating most was tripe . Yup , the stomach lining of farm animals . 8 . He quit his day job : He studied law at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and opened the nation 's first black law firm in the city in 1952 . 9 . He was on the U.S. terror watch list : Mandela was n't removed from the U.S. terror watch list until 2008 -- at age 89 . He and other members of the African National Congress were placed on it because of their militant fight against apartheid . 10 . He drew his inspiration from a poem : While he was in prison , Mandela would read William Ernest Henley 's `` Invictus '' to fellow prisoners . The poem , about never giving up , resonated with Mandela for its lines `` I am the master of my fate . I am the captain of my soul . '' You may know it from the movie by the same name starring Morgan Freeman as Mandela .
He had a cameo in a Bruce Willis film . There 's a nuclear reactor named after him . His other passion was boxing . He favorite dish was chicken .