1997

1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1997th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 997th year of the 2nd millennium, the 97th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year of the 1990s decade.

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1960s  1970s  1980s  – 1990s –  2000s  2010s  2020s
Years:	1994 1995 1996 – 1997 – 1998 1999 2000

Births

Kylie Jenner

• January 3 - Rahul Shah, Indian cricketer
• February 13 - Michael Jackson, American actor, singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, record producer and voice actor
• March 21 - Martina Stoessel, Argentina actrees & singer
• March 31 - Florin Pisică, Romanian ministry of education & guitarist (Trupa Muzicii Rock-The Jam Hendrix Experience)
• April 1 – Asa Butterfield, English actor
• April 15 - Maisie Williams, British actress
• May 1 – Ariel Gade, American actress
• June 29 - Lucian Emanoil Onișor, Romanian doctor & bassist
• July 18 - Maria Nikka Feliselda, Filipina Bassist
• August 10 – Kylie Jenner, American television personality and founder of Kylie Cosmetics
• August 16 - Greyson Chance, American singer
• August 20 - Vlad Bușilă, Romanian guitarist (Trupa Muzicii Rock-Fecal Matter)
• September 1
  • Dragoș Leonte, Romanian keyboardist & guitarist (Trupa Filmului) (d.2023)
  • Jungkook, Korean singer (BTS)
• September 8 – Matthew Josten, American actor
• October 2 - Liezel Lopez, Philippine actress
• October 8 - Bella Throne, American actrees & singer
• November 16 – Alex Polidori, Italian actress and younger sister of Gabriele Patriarca
• November 17 - Luca Raicu, Romanian keyboardist (Trupa Muzicii Rock-The Jam Hendrix Experience)
• November 19 – McCaughey septuplets, famous American set of septuplets
• December 16 - Zara Larsson, Sweden singer

January

Kofi Annan becomes UN Secretary-General.

• January 1 – Kofi Annan becomes Secretary-General of the UN.
• January 8 – Mister Rogers receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• January 9 – Yachtsman Tony Bullimore is found alive five days after his boat capsized in the Southern Ocean.
• January 18 – In north west Rwanda, Hutu militia members kill 3 Spanish aid workers, 3 soldiers and seriously wound 1 other.
• January 19 – Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
• January 20 – Bill Clinton starts his second term as President of the United States.
• January 21 – Newt Gingrich becomes the first leader of the United States House of Representatives to be internally disciplined for ethical misconduct.
• January 22 – Madeleine Albright becomes the first female secretary of state after confirmation by the United States Senate.
• January 23 – Mir Aimal Kasi receives the death sentence for a 1993 assault rifle attack outside CIA headquarters that killed 2 and wounded 3 others.
• January 27 – It is revealed that French museums had nearly 2,000 pieces of art that were stolen by Nazis.
• January 28 – Clive Davis receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

February

• February 22 – Scientists in Scotland announce the cloning of Dolly, born on July 5, 1996.
• February 23 – A small fire occurs on the Mir space station.
• February 27 – Divorce becomes legal in the Republic of Ireland.

March

Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Korean Airlines Flight 801 crashes on Guam.

• March 6 – Guyana's President Cheddi Jagan dies in office.
• March 22 – At age 14, Tara Lipinski becomes the youngest figure skating world champion.
• March 24 – The movie The English Patient wins an Academy Award for best picture.

April

• April 29 – 126 people are killed in a train crash in Hunan, China.

May

• May 1 – Tony Blair of the Labour Party is elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in a landslide victory over the Conservatives, who lose all of their seats in Scotland and Wales, and lose power after 18 years in Government.
• May 3 – Katrina and the Waves win the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom.
• May 10 – An earthquake in northeastern Iran kills 2400 people.
• May 16 – Mobutu Sese Seko leaves Zaire.
• May 17 – Laurent Kabila's troops enter Kinshasa, as Zaire changes its name to Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• May 23 – Mohammad Khatami is elected President of Iran.

June

• June 13 – Timothy McVeigh is sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing.
• June 25 – The town of Plymouth on the Caribbean island of Montserrat is evacuated as the Soufriere Hills volcano erupts.
• June 26 – Bertie Ahern becomes Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland.

July

• July 1 – The United Kingdom hands control of Hong Kong back to the People's Republic of China.
• July 15 – Fashion designer Gianni Versace is shot dead in Florida by spree killer Andrew Cunanan.
• July 25 – K. R. Narayanan becomes President of India.

August

• August 4 – Jeanne Calment dies after a record human lifespan of 122 years and 164 days.
• August 6 – Korean Air Flight 801 crash lands on the island of Guam, killing 228 people.
• August 31 – Diana, Princess of Wales, Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul are killed in a car crash in Paris.

September

Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales on September 6, 1997

• September 5 – The 2004 Summer Olympics are awarded to Athens, Greece.
• September 6 – The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales takes place at Westminster Abbey in London. It is watched by over 2 billion people worldwide.
• September 11 – Voters in Scotland approve the creation of their own regional parliament in a referendum.
• September 18 – Voters in Wales approve the creation of their own Assembly in a referendum.
• September 26 – The regions of Umbria and Marche in Italy are hit by a strong earthquake.
• September 26 - An Airbus A300 of Garuda Indonesia Airlines crashes in Medan, Sumatra, killing all 234 people on board.

October

• October 15 – NASA launches the Cassini-Huygens probe to Saturn.
• October 16 – The New York Times' first colour photographs appear.

November

Mary McAleese is chosen as President of Ireland on November 11, 1997.

• November 11 – Mary McAleese is chosen to succeed Mary Robinson as President of the Republic of Ireland, marking the first-ever woman to woman Presidential transfer.
• November 17 – 62 people are killed by Islamist terrorists in Luxor, Egypt.

December

• December 11 – The Kyoto protocol is approved by a UN committee.
• December 19 – Janet Jagan becomes President of Guyana, succeeding her deceased husband, Cheddi Jagan.
• December 19 – James Cameron's movie Titanic is released in the US.

Other significant events

• Algerian Civil War: Hundreds of people are killed in massacres throughout the year.

Nobel Prizes

• Chemistry: Paul D. Boyer, John E. Walker, Jens C. Skou
• Economics: Robert C. Merton, Myron C. Scholes
• Literature: Dario Fo
• Nobel Peace Prize: International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Jody Williams
• Physics: Steven Chu, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, William D. Phillips
• Medicine: Stanley B. Prusiner

Movies Released

• Air Force One
• Amistad
• As Good as It Gets
• Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
• Batman & Robin
• Breakdown
• Cop Land
• Con Air
• Contact
• Face/Off
• Fire Down Below
• Gattaca
• Good Will Hunting
• Hercules
• Home Alone 3
• Into Thin Air
• L.A. Confidential
• Liar Liar
• Men in Black
• Mononoke Hime
• My Best Friend's Wedding
• Suicide Kings
• The Fifth Element
• The Full Monty
• The Ice Storm
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park
• The Rainmaker
• The Sweet Hereafter
• Titanic
• Tomorrow Never Dies
• U Turn
• Power Rangers Turbo: The Movie
• Volcano

New books

• American Pastoral – Philip Roth
• Are You Experienced? – William Sutcliffe
• Barney's Version – Mordecai Richler
• The Best Laid Plans – Sidney Sheldon
• The Bible Code – Michael Drosnin
• Budgie: The Little Helicopter – Sarah Ferguson
• Cat & Mouse – James Patterson
• Cold Mountain – Charles Frazier
• Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs – Dave Barry
• Deja Dead – Kathy Reichs
• Diana: Her True Story – Andrew Morton
• Everyday Wicca – Gerina Dunwich
• Fall On Your Knees – Ann-Marie MacDonald
• The Ghost – Danielle Steel
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone – J. K. Rowling
• Hornet's Nest – Patricia Cornwell
• I Am the Most Interesting Book of All (translation) – Marie Bashkirtseff
• Instruments of Darkness – Nancy Huston
• Jingo – Terry Pratchett
• Larry's Party – Carol Shields
• Last Standing Woman – Winona LaDuke
• Moab Is My Washpot – Stephen Fry (autobiography)
• Morisson of Peking – Cyril Pearl
• Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet – Karen Armstrong
• Night Train – Martin Amis
• The Partner – John Grisham
• Pretend You Don't See Her – Mary Higgins Clark
• The Ranch – Danielle Steel
• The Red Tent – Anita Diamant
• Special Delivery – Danielle Steel
• The Subtle Knife – Philip Pullman
• Timequake – Kurt Vonnegut
• Toulouse-Lautrec: The Soul of Montmartre – Reinhold Heller
• Tuesdays With Morrie – Mitch Albom
• Unnatural Exposure – Patricia Cornwell
• A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson
• A Wiccan's Guide to Prophecy and Divination – Gerina Dunwich

Hit songs

• Candle in the Wind 1997 – Elton John
• "MMMBop" – Hanson
• "My Heart Will Go On" – Céline Dion
• "Wannabe" – The Spice Girls
• "A Long December" – Counting Crows
• "All By Myself" – Céline Dion
• "Don't Speak" – No Doubt
• "Forty Six & 2" – Tool
• "Longneck Bottle" – Garth Brooks
• "Magdalene" – Lenny Kravitz
• "Silver Springs" – Fleetwood Mac
• "The Difference" – The Wallflowers
• "Volcano" – Presidents of the United States of America
• "You Were Meant For Me" – Jewel