1997 - What happened in 1997 ?

January 1997

Friday 03:

NBC's Today show host Bryant Gumbel signs off for the last time.

Sunday 05:

Withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya.

Thursday 16:

Ennis Cosby, the only son of actor Bill Cosby, is killed by a gunman while changing a flat tire in Los Angeles, California.

Sunday 26:

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

Monday 27:

It is revealed that French museums have nearly 2,000 pieces of art that were stolen by Nazis.

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.

Saturday 22:

In Roslin, Scotland, scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly had been successfully cloned.

Sunday 23:

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

March 1997

Tuesday 04:

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

Tuesday 11:

An explosion at a nuclear waste reprocessing plant in Japan exposes 35 workers to low-level radioactive contamination in the worst nuclear accident in Japan's history.

Wednesday 12:

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

Sunday 16:

Stuart Appleby wins the Honda Golf Classic.

Wednesday 26:

Thirty-nine bodies found in the Heaven's Gate cult suicides.

April 1997

Sunday 20:

The San Diego Padres face the St. Louis Cardinals in the first Major League Baseball game ever played in Hawaii.

Tuesday 22:

A 126-day hostage crisis at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Lima, Peru ends after government commandos storm and capture the building, rescuing 71 hostages. One hostage dies of a heart attack, two soldiers are killed from rebel fire, and all 14 rebels are slain.

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.

Tuesday 29:

The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 enters into force, outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons among its signatories.

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.

Friday 02:

The Labour Party's Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, ending 18 years of Conservative Party rule. At 44, he is the youngest prime minister for 185 years.

Monday 12:

1997 - In the 7th inning of a baseball game between the Anaheim Angels, and the Chicago White Sox,the Angels score 13 runs.

Friday 23:

Mohammad Khatami is elected as President of Iran.

Tuesday 27:

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

June 1997

Tuesday 03:

Lionel Jospin becomes Prime Minister of France.

Friday 13:

A jury sentences Timothy McVeigh to the death penalty for his part in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Monday 16:

Dairat Labguer massacre in Algeria; some 50 people killed.

Wednesday 25:

An unmanned Progress spacecraft collided with the Russian Space station, Mir.

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

Wednesday 16:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 63.17 to close at 8,038.88, closing above 8,000 for the first time.

Thursday 17:

The F.W. Woolworth Company closes after 117 years in business.

Friday 18:

1997 - 8000 low-caste Indians riot in Mumbai (Bombay) following a funeral for 10 children who had been killed by police.

Wednesday 23:

Digital Equipment Company files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel.

Monday 28:

Guatemala becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

August 1997

Saturday 02:

Eighteen lives are lost in the Thredbo landslide in New South Wales, Australia.

Wednesday 06:

Korean Air Flight 801, a Boeing 747-300, crashes into the jungle on Guam on approach to airport, killing 228.

Thursday 21:

The British Rock Group Oasis release album, Be Here Now.

Tuesday 26:

Beni-Ali massacre in Algeria; 60-100 people killed.

Friday 29:

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

September 1997

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"? --->

Friday 05:

1997 - The IOC picks Athens to be the host city for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Friday 26:

An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi to collapse.

Saturday 27:

Communications are lost with the Mars Pathfinder for unknown reasons.

Tuesday 30:

Origin Systems Inc. releases Ultima Online, a massively multiplayer game, opening the door for a new video gaming genre.

October 1997

Friday 10:

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

Wednesday 15:

The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn.

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.

Tuesday 28:

The bulls come running back as the Dow Jones Industrial Average gains a record 337.17 points to close at 7,498.32. The massive rally comes a day after a 554 point drop. One billion shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time ever.

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 16:

After nearly 18 years of incarceration, the People's Republic of China releases Wei Jingsheng, a pro-democracy dissident, from jail for medical reasons.

Wednesday 19:

In Carlisle, Iowa, Bobbi McCaughey gives birth to septuplets in the second known case where all seven babies were born alive.

Thursday 27:

Second Souhane massacre in Algeria; 25 killed.

Friday 28:

Kosovo Liberation Army, Albanian guerrilla group fighting for freedom of Kosovo, presents in front of the people of Kosovo.

December 1997

Monday 15:

A chartered Tupolev TU-154 from Tajikistan crashes in the desert near Sharja, United Arab Emirates airport killing 85

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.