1997

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 is a year in the 20th century. It is a common year. Children born this year are the oldest members of the post-rock generation.

Births

• September 8 – Matthew Josten, American actor
• November 16 – Alex Polidori, Italian actress and younger sister of Gabriele Patriarca

Deaths

• January 10 – Sheldon Leonard, American producer, actor, director
• January 17 – Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer (b. 1906)
• January 19 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (b. 1923)
• January 20 – Curt Flood, American baseball player (b. 1938)
• January 21 – Colonel Tom Parker, Dutch born American celebrity manager (b. 1909)
• February 1 – Herb Caen, American newspaper columnist (b. 1916)
• February 2 – Chico Science, Brazilian musician (automobile accident) (b. 1967)
• February 5 – Pamela Harriman, U.S. Ambassador to France
• February 11 – Don Porter, actor.
• February 19 – Deng Xiaoping, leader of the People's Republic of China
• February 20 – Edmond Yu, medical student
• March 9 – The Notorious B.I.G., rapper
• March 10 – La Vern Baker, singer
• March 14 – Fred Zinnemann, director
• March 19 – Willem de Kooning, artist
• March 20 – Tony Zale, boxer
• April 5 – Allen Ginsberg, American poet (b. 1926)
• April 7 – Georgi Shonin, cosmonaut
• April 7 – Witto Aloma, Major League Baseball player (b. 1923)
• April 16 – Doris Angleton, American socialite
• May 5 – Walter Gotell, actor
• May 14 – Harry Blackstone Jr., magician
• May 29 – Jeff Buckley, musician (accidental drowning)
• September 5 – Mother Teresa

Events

• January 3 – NBC's Today Show Bryant Gumbel signs off for the last time
• January 8 – Mister Rogers receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
• January 9 – Yachtsman Tony Bullimore found alive five days after his boat capsized in the Southern Ocean
• January 16 – Ennis Cosby, the only son of actor Bill Cosby, is killed by a gunman while changing a flat tire in Los Angeles, California
• 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.

Films released

• Air Force One
• Amistad
• As Good as It Gets
• Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
• Batman & Robin
• Contact
• Face/Off
• 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
• Tomarrow Never Dies
• 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
• "Bitch"- Meredith Brooks
• "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