Thursday morning the Court Square in downtown Andalusia was covered with famous faces, as students from Andalusia Elementary School dressed up as historical figures for “Living History.”

Students were given the option to choose anyone from history that they admired, and the characters ranged from sports stars to political figures and everything in between.

Brandon Townsend chose to portray South African former president Nelson Mandela for his character.

“I wanted to pick Nelson Mandela for all the good things that he tried to do even when those things got him put in prison,” Townsend said. “In 1962, he was arrested and faced life in prison, but was released after 27 years because of international lobbying for his release. After that, he became president of South Africa.”

Sitting Bull was the historical figure that DeAndre Sheridan decided he wanted to be.

“I picked Sitting Bull because I always thought he was neat even though I didn’t know much about him before this,” Sheridan said. “Sitting Bull wasn’t his first nickname though, his first was Slow. They called him slow because he didn’t get in a hurry to do anything. He killed his first buffalo when he was only 10 years old, and when he was little he went out with his father and he knocked a warrior from his horse will just a stick.”

Matthew Yesil is a fan of smart people, so he chose to portray Albert Einstein.

“I picked Einstein because he was so smart,” Yesil said. “His first words were, ‘Soup is too hot,’ and he came up with the formula E=MC2, which means a little energy creates a lot of mass. Einstein died in 1955.”

Cole Morgan picked Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Joe Montana as the figure he would portray.

“I really like football and I’m an athlete, so that is why I picked Joe Montana,” Morgan said. “I’ve always thought he was really cool. He played a lot of sports and got a lot of scholarships from colleges, but wound up picking Notre Dame. He won two Cotton Bowls with the Irish and was a third round pick in the 1979 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers. With the 49ers, Montana won four Super Bowls.”

Matthew Freeney’s choice was Jackie Robinson because of the color barriers that Robinson was able to break in Major League Baseball.

“I really like baseball and what he did for African-Americans,” Freeney said. “Robinson was born in Georgia in 1919 and had three brothers and one sister. He started playing semi-pro football before joining the army. After leaving the army, he played minor league baseball for the Royals and then major league baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was tough for him for a while, but eventually they all accepted him.”

Brayton Jeffcoat showed off his funky side, as he portrayed the legendary Elvis Presley.

“Elvis started singing first in the church choir,” Jeffcoat said. “Then he started singing in concerts after he go his first guitar, and when he became famous he bought his mother the pink Cadillac that he had always promised her.”

Kalynn Helms was drawn to being Joan of Arc for the way she always stood up for what she believed.

“She was a very godly person and fought for what she believed in, and that is why I picked her,” Helms said. “She had the voices of angels and God in her head telling her to always fight for what was right. She led many troops into battle before being captured in Paris when she was 18. She went on trail as was found guilty of being a witch and a devil worshipper and was burned at the stake at the age of 19.”