All-Pro Reels — CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Doug Williams led the Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XXII, becoming the first African American quarterback to start, win, and be named MVP of a Super Bowl.
SportsOn this day — January 31 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
We are adding a source to every entry in this archive. 1 of 6 on this page carry one so far. The rest were written before per-entry citations were recorded, so if you intend to rely on one, check it independently until its source appears here. See our sourcing methodology.
All-Pro Reels — CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 
Federal Bureau of Investigation — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 2001 A Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands convicted Libyan agent Abdelbaset al-Megrahi for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
PoliticsFuel spilled from an overturned tanker at Sachangwan near Molo, Kenya, ignited as crowds gathered to collect it. About 95 people died at the scene and the toll kept climbing as the injured died in hospital; the Red Cross put the final figure at 140, and a review of hospital records by a visiting American burn team counted 131. More than 200 people were injured. It came three days after a supermarket fire in Nairobi, which the Red Cross said killed at least 29 people and which the same burn team put at 46 once hospital deaths were counted.
Sources: Capital FM (Kenya) ; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (via ReliefWeb) ; Eplasty (peer-reviewed; authors from the Johns Hopkins Burn Center)
Tragedy
Max Koot Studio — CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1961 Fatou Bensouda, Gambian lawyer who served as Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court from 2012 to 2021, was born.
BirthAdelaide Tambo, South African anti-apartheid activist, politician, and wife of ANC leader Oliver Tambo, died at age 77.
Death
Somali Government — CC0, Wikimedia Commons 2014 Abdirizak Haji Hussein, Somali politician who served as the country's fourth prime minister, died at age 89.
Death