1997 Timeline

"It fits your life...or complete lack thereof..."
--Volkswagen commercial, 1997 Jan. 20, 1997: Clinton is inauguarated
Jan. 23, 1997: Madeleine Albright sworn in as first woman U.S. Secretary of State.
Feb. 4, 1997: Jury rules that O.J. Simpson is liable for the deaths of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman in the civil trial.
Feb. 19, 1997: Den Xiaoping, China's leader since 1979, dies.
March 27, 1997: Bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult are found in Rancho Santa Fe, California. They had apparently committed suicide.
April 22, 1997: Peruvian government soldiers free 72 hostages held for 4 months at the Japanese Embassy in Lima by Túpac Amaru rebels.
June 6, 1997: U.S. jobless rate for May reported 4.8 percent, lowest since 1973 .
June 2, 1997: Tim McVey is found guilty of the Oklahoma City bombing.
June 13, 1997: Tim McVey is sentenced to death.
July 1, 1997: British hand over Hong Kong to the Chinese.
July 4, 1997: NASA's Pathfinder Lands on Mars. In the next several days it sends back extraordinary pictures of the Martian surface.
July 15, 1997: Andrew Cunanan murders fashion designer Gianni Versace at end of a killing spree. Days later Cunanan commits suicide.
August 3, 1997: UPS goes on strike.
August 31, 1997: Princess Diana dies in a car accident in Paris.
September 5, 1997: Mother Teresa dies at the age of 87.
September 6, 1997: Worldwide morning for Princess Diana's funeral.
November 19, 1997: Iowa woman gives birth to seven babies.

Time Magazine's Man of the Year: Intel's Andrew Grove - his microchips have changed the world - and its economy

Boston Globe's 1997 Year in Review
Santa Rosa Press Democrat: 1997 Year in Review