1997 - What happened in 1997 ?

January 1997

Tuesday 07:

A team of programmers at the University of Regensburg, Germany releases Tibia, one of the earliest graphical MMORPGs.

Wednesday 08:

computer processer Pentium MMX introduced by Intel.

Thursday 23:

Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.

Sunday 26:

Super Bowl XXXI: The Green Bay Packers defeat the New England Patriots, 35-21.

Tuesday 28:

Arista Records founder Clive Davis receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

February 1997

Tuesday 04:

After at first contesting the results, Serbian President Slobodan Milo?evi? recognizes opposition victories in the November 1996 elections.

Wednesday 05:

Morgan Stanley and Dean Witter investment banks announce a $10 billion merger.

Monday 10:

The United States Army suspends Sgt. Major Gene C. McKinney, its top-ranking enlisted soldier, after hearing allegations of sexual misconduct.

Thursday 13:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 7,000 for the first time closing at 7,022.44.

Sunday 23:

A large fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir.

March 1997

Monday 03:

The tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, Sky Tower in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, opens after two-and-a-half years of construction.

Tuesday 04:

United States President Bill Clinton bars federal funding for any research on human cloning.

Wednesday 12:

Mikail Markhasev is arrested in Los Angeles, California and charged with shooting Bill Cosby's 27-year-old son, Ennis Cosby.

Tuesday 18:

The tail of a Russian An-24 charter plane breaks off while en-route to Turkey causing the plane to crash and killing all 50 on board. This leads to the grounding of all An-24s.

Saturday 22:

Tara Lipinski, age 14 years and 10 months, becomes the youngest champion of the women's world figure skating competition.

April 1997

Thursday 03:

Thalit massacre begins in Algeria; all but 1 of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas.

Sunday 13:

Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament

Sunday 27:

Andrew Cunanan murders Jeffrey Trail, beginning a murder spree that will last until July and terminate with the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace.

Monday 28:

The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention goes into effect. Russia, Iraq and North Korea were notable nations who had not ratified the treaty.

Wednesday 30:

Ellen DeGeneres's character comes out of the closet on the sitcom Ellen.

May 1997

Thursday 01:

HM Prison Pentridge, Melbourne, Australia is officially closed.

Saturday 03:

In Dublin, Ireland, Katrina and the Waves win the forty-second Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom singing "Love Shine a Light".

Thursday 08:

A China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 crashes on approach into Shenzhen's Huangtian Airport, killing 35

Tuesday 27:

The F5-strength Jarrell Tornado slams into the small town of Jarrell, Texas, killing 27 people.

Saturday 31:

Canada's Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick.

June 1997

Monday 02:

Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Tuesday 10:

Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot orders the killing of his defense chief Son Sen and 11 of Sen's family members before Pol Pot flees his northern stronghold.

Thursday 12:

The United States Department of the Treasury unveils a new $50 bill meant to be more counterfeit-resistant. http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/rr1746.htm

Monday 16:

Dairat Labguer massacre in Algeria; some 50 people killed.

Saturday 28:

Boxer Mike Tyson is disqualified from WBA title re-match, for biting off part of the ear of his opponent Evander Holyfield.

July 1997

Tuesday 01:

The United Kingdom hands sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China.

Tuesday 15:

In Miami, Florida, serial killer Andrew Phillip Cunanan guns down Gianni Versace outside his home.

Tuesday 22:

The second Blue Water Bridge opens between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario.

Sunday 27:

Si Zerrouk massacre in Algeria; about 50 people killed.

Wednesday 30:

A double suicide bombing kills 14 people in Jerusalem,Israel.

August 1997

Sunday 03:

Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre in Algeria; 40-76 villagers killed.

Wednesday 13:

South Park debuts on Comedy Central.

Wednesday 20:

Souhane massacre in Algeria; over 60 people killed, 15 kidnapped.

Friday 29:

Serial killer Ángel Maturino Reséndiz bludgeons to death Christopher Maier of Lexington, Kentucky, USA, the first of nine victims.

Sunday 31:

Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a car crash in Paris.

September 1997

Wednesday 03:

A Vietnamese Airlines Tupolev TU-134 crashes on approach into Phnom Penh airport, killing 64.

Thursday 04:

A U.S. Air Force C-141 cargo plane and a German TU-154 collide in mid-air over southwest Africa killing 33. <!--can we get a more specific location than "SW Africa"? --->

Sunday 07:

The first test flight of the F/A-22 Raptor takes place.

Friday 19:

Guelb El-Kebir massacre in Algeria; 53 killed.

Monday 22:

Bentalha massacre in Algeria; over 200 villagers killed.

October 1997

Friday 10:

An Austral Airlines DC-9-32 crashes and explodes near Nuevo Berlin, Uruguay, killing 74.

Tuesday 21:

The government of Singapore announces in a widely-publicized "toilet alert" that the drive for toilet cleanliness is a great success; five toilets were selected by citizens as toilet role models.

Saturday 25:

After a brief civil war which has driven President Pascal Lissouba out of Brazzaville, Denis Sassou-Nguesso proclaims himself the President of the Republic of the Congo.

Sunday 26:

Basketball player Charles Barkley is charged with aggravated battery and resisting arrest after throwing Jorge Lugo through a plate glass window in a dance club in Orlando, Florida.

Thursday 30:

British au pair Louise Woodward is found guilty of the baby-shaking death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen.

November 1997

Saturday 08:

US president Bill Clinton speaks at a dinner sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, the USA's largest gay rights organisation.

Sunday 09:

Mike Lookinland (of The Brady Bunch fame) is charged with drunk driving in St. George, Utah.

Tuesday 11:

Marianne Biancuzzo is charged for drowning her newborn baby in a toilet and hiding the remains in a coffee can in Tucson, Arizona.

Wednesday 12:

Ramzi Yousef is found guilty of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Tuesday 18:

Gary Glitter is arrested in the United Kingdom on child porn charges.

December 1997

Saturday 06:

A Russian Antonov AN-124 transport cargo plane crashes into an apartment complex near Irkutsk, Siberia, killing 67

Monday 22:

Acteal massacre: Attendees at a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic activists for indigenous causes in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas were massacred by paramilitary forces.

Wednesday 24:

The Dominican Republic becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

Saturday 27:

Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 30:

In the worst incident in Algeria's insurgency, the Wilaya of Relizane massacres of December 30, 1997, 400 people are killed from four villages.