On This Day for January 31 - Guy Fawkes executed in London, Jackie Robinson is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. January 31 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Jackie Robinson READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 1606 Guy Fawkes executed in London READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2020: The United Kingdom formally left the European Union, more than three years after the country voted for "Brexit." [Learn more about the Brexit vote.] 2001: Libyan national Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was convicted in the 1988 Pan Am flight 103 bombing , in which 270 people were killed; in 2009 the Scottish government released Megrahi from prison after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. 1981: American singer and actor Justin Timberlake, who was a member of the hugely successful "boy band" *NSYNC before launching a solo career, was born in Memphis, Tennessee. [Test your knowledge of pop music.] 1961: The American film drama The Misfits, which was directed by John Huston, had its world premiere; it was perhaps best remembered as the final movie of Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about A-list actors.] 1956: Johnny Rotten—lead singer of the Sex Pistols, a rock group that created the British punk movement of the late 1970s—was born in London. [ Test your knowledge of musical groups.] 1797: Austrian composer Franz Schubert was born near Vienna. [Take our classical composers quiz.] SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1981 Justin Timberlake American singer, songwriter, actor, and producer 1919 Jackie Robinson American athlete 1797 Franz Schubert Austrian composer 1937 Philip Glass American composer 1543 Tokugawa Ieyasu shogun of Japan 1923 Norman Mailer American author SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2021 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help