1997

1997 in other calendars
Gregorian calendar	1997; MCMXCVII
Ab urbe condita	2750
Armenian calendar	1446; ԹՎ ՌՆԽԶ
Assyrian calendar	6747
Bahá'í calendar	153–154
Balinese saka calendar	1918–1919
Bengali calendar	1404
Berber calendar	2947
British Regnal year	45 Eliz. 2 – 46 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2541
Burmese calendar	1359
Byzantine calendar	7505–7506
Chinese calendar	丙子年 (Fire Rat); 4693 or 4633; — to —; 丁丑年 (Fire Ox); 4694 or 4634
Coptic calendar	1713–1714
Discordian calendar	3163
Ethiopian calendar	1989–1990
Hebrew calendar	5757–5758
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2053–2054
- Shaka Samvat	1918–1919
- Kali Yuga	5097–5098
Holocene calendar	11997
Igbo calendar	997–998
Iranian calendar	1375–1376
Islamic calendar	1417–1418
Japanese calendar	Heisei 9; (平成９年)
Javanese calendar	1929–1930
Juche calendar	86
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4330
Minguo calendar	ROC 86; 民國86年
Nanakshahi calendar	529
Thai solar calendar	2540
Tibetan calendar	阳火鼠年; (male Fire-Rat); 2123 or 1742 or 970; — to —; 阴火牛年; (female Fire-Ox); 2124 or 1743 or 971
Unix time	852076800 – 883612799

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

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.

Births[change | change source]

January 3 - Rahul Shah, Indian cricketer
February 13 - Michael Jackson, American actor, singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, record producer and voice actor
March 8 - Sam Vanderpump, English former race kart driver, businessman and television personality
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

Deaths[change | change source]

January[change | change source]

January 8 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist (b. 1911)
January 9 – Edward Osobka-Morawski, Polish politician (b. 1909)
January 10 – Alexander R. Todd, Scottish chemist (b. 1907)
January 10 – Sheldon Leonard, American producer (b. 1907)
January 12 – Charles Brenton Huggins, Canadian cancer researcher (b. 1901)
January 15 – Helenio Herrera, Argentine football manager (b. 1916)
January 17 – Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer (b. 1906)
January 18 – Paul Tsongas, American politician (b. 1941)
January 19 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (b. 1923)
January 21 – Colonel Tom Parker, Dutch-born American celebrity manager (b. 1909)
January 25 – Jeane Dixon, American psychic (b. 1904)

August[change | change source]

August 2 – William S. Burroughs, American writer (b. 1914)
August 4 – Jeanne Calment, French supercentenarian (b. 1875)
August 8 – Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist (b. 1915)
August 12 – Luther Allison, American musician (b. 1939)
August 23 – John Kendrew, British molecular biologist (b. 1917)
August 30 – Ernst Willimowski, Polish footballer (b. 1931)
August 31 – Diana, Princess of Wales (b. 1961)
August 31 – Dodi al-Fayed, Egyptian businessman (b. 1955)

September[change | change source]

September 5 – Mother Teresa, Albanian nun and missionary (b. 1910)
September 7 – Mobutu Sese Seko, President of Zaire (b. 1930)
September 9 – Burgess Meredith, American actor (b. 1907)
September 11 – Matrika Prasad Koirala, Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1912)
September 17 – Red Skelton, American entertainer (b. 1913)
September 18 – Jimmy Witherspoon, American blues singer (b. 1920)
September 29 – Roy Lichtenstein, American artist (b. 1923)

October[change | change source]

October 5 – Brian Pillman, American professional wrestler (b. 1962)
October 12 – John Denver, American musician (b. 1943)
October 16 – James A. Michener, American writer (b. 1907)
October 16 – Audra Lindley, American actress (b. 1918)
October 22 – Leonid Amalrik, Russian animator (b. 1905)
October 30 – Samuel Fuller, American screenwriter and director (b. 1912)

November[change | change source]

November 8 – Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh, Iranian writer (b. 1892)
November 22 – Michael Hutchence, Australian musician (b. 1960)
November 25 – Hastings Banda, 1st President of Malawi (b. 1907)

December[change | change source]

December 1 – Stephane Grappelli, French violinist (b. 1908)
December 7 – Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer (b. 1942)
December 16 – Lillian Disney, American artist (b. 1899)
December 18 – Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (b. 1964)
December 20 – Juzo Itami, Japanese movie director (b. 1933)
December 24 – Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (b. 1920)
December 27 – Billy Wright, Northern Irish paramilitary leader (b. 1960)

Events[change | change source]

January[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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

May[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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

November[change | change source]

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.