On this day: February 20 in African history

A gas cylinder ignited in a crowded third-class carriage on the Cairo to Luxor night train, and fire spread through seven carriages while the train ran on for another two and a half miles before stopping. Officials counted 373 dead. The carriages were built for 150 passengers and held about twice that, bars across the windows blocked the way out, and passengers threw one another through the openings as the train kept moving.

Sources: PBS NewsHour ; World Socialist Web Site

Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed

Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Muhammad Naguib, who became the 1st President of Egypt, was born.

Sources: Egypt State Information Service ; Encyclopaedia Britannica

CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby union player regarded as one of the greatest scrum-halves in the sport's history, was born.

Sources: The Guardian ; South African Hall of Fame