1997

Events from the year 1997 in the United States.
==Incumbents==
===Federal Government===
* President: Bill Clinton (D-AR)
* Vice President: Al Gore (D-TN)
* Chief Justice: William Rehnquist (WI) 
* Speaker of the House of Representatives: Newt Gingrich (R-GA)
* Senate Majority Leader: Trent Lott (R-MS)
* Congress: 104th (until January 3), 105th (starting January 3)
==Events==
===January===
* January 17 – A Delta II rocket carrying a military GPS payload explodes shortly after liftoff from Cape Canaveral.
* January 20 – President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore begin their second term.
* January 26 – Super Bowl XXXI: The Green Bay Packers defeat the New England Patriots 35–21 at Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
===February===
* February 5 – A Santa Monica jury finds former football legend O. J. Simpson liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.
* February 8 – Motorcycle stunt rider Corey Scott is killed in front of a crowd of around 30,000 spectators at the Orange Bowl stadium in Miami, Florida, after a stunt goes terribly wrong.
* February 10 – The United States Army suspends Gene C. McKinney, Sergeant Major of the Army, its top-ranking enlisted soldier, after hearing allegations of sexual misconduct.
* February 13
** The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 7,000 for the first time, gaining 60.81 to 7,022.44.
** STS-82: Astronauts from Space Shuttle Discovery begin tune-up and repair work on the Hubble Space Telescope.
* February 23 – 1997 Empire State Building shooting: A gunman kills one person and wounds six others before taking his own life on the observation deck of the Empire State Building in Manhattan, New York City.
* February 28
** FBI agent Earl Edwin Pitts pleads guilty to selling secrets to Soviet Union.
** North Hollywood shootout: Two heavily armed bank robbers conflict with officers from the Los Angeles Police Department in a mass shootout.
===March===
* March 4 – U.S. President Bill Clinton bars federal funding for any research on human cloning.
* March 9 – 24-year-old Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G. is killed in a drive-by shooting shortly after leaving a Vibe magazine party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles before the release of his second album Life After Death. The album is released on March 25.
* March 13 – The Phoenix Lights are seen over Phoenix, Arizona.
* March 14 – A famous study of gender reassignment of a twin boy who lost his penis to a botched circumcision is refuted. The supposedly successful outcome for "Joan" had been widely cited as proof that gender was determined by nurture, yet the patient, David Reimer, was deeply unhappy and had returned to his original gender by the age of 15, thus indicating the exact opposite thesis.
* March 24 – The 69th Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with Anthony Minghella's The English Patient winning nine awards out of 12 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. The telecast garners nearly 40.1 million viewers.
* March 26 – In San Diego, California, 39 Heaven's Gate cultists commit mass suicide at their compound.
===April===
* April 16 – Houston socialite Doris Angleton is murdered, drawing suspicion to her estranged husband, Robert. His brother Roger confesses to the crime and the investigation reveals that Robert had amassed a fortune through illegal betting.
* April 18 – The Red River of the North breaks through dikes and floods Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota, causing US$2 billion in damage.
===May===
* May 1 – For the first time since December 1973, unemployment falls below 5%. It would remain below 5% until September 2001, during the early 2000s recession.
* May 2 – The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
* May 6 – Bee Gees' album, Still Waters is released in the United States.
* May 15 – The United States government acknowledges existence of the "Secret War" in Laos, and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other "Secret War" veterans.
* May 16 – U.S. President Bill Clinton issues a formal apology to the surviving victims of the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male and their families.
* May 22 – Kelly Flinn, the U.S. Air Force's first female bomber pilot certified for combat, accepts a general discharge in order to avoid a court martial.
* May 25 – Strom Thurmond becomes the longest-serving member in the history of the United States Senate (41 years and 10 months).
* May 27 – The second-deadliest tornado of the 1990s hits in Jarrell, Texas, killing 27 people.
===June===
* June 2 – In Denver, Colorado, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
* June 6 – In Lacey Township, New Jersey, high school senior Melissa Drexler gives birth in a toilet and leaves the newborn for dead in the trash.
* June 7
** A computer user known as "_eci" publishes his C source code on a Windows 95 and Windows NT exploit, which later becomes WinNuke. The source code gets wide distribution across the internet, and Microsoft is forced to release a security patch.
** The Detroit Red Wings win their first Stanley Cup championship in 42 years, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4 games to 0. Red Wings goaltender Mike Vernon is awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
* June 8 – A United States Coast Guard helicopter crashes near Humboldt Bay, California; all four crew members perish.
* June 12 – The United States Department of the Treasury unveils a new $50 bill, meant to be more difficult to counterfeit.
* June 13 – A jury sentences Timothy McVeigh to death for his part in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
* June 19 – The fast food chain McDonald's wins a partial victory in its libel trial, known as the "McLibel case", against two environmental campaigners. The judge agrees that McDonald's targeted its advertising at children, who pestered their parents into visiting the company's restaurants.
* June 27 – Walt Disney Pictures' 35th feature film, Hercules, loosely based on the legendary mythological hero of the same name, is released to positive reviews but underperforms at the box office in comparison to its most recent predecessors.
* June 28 – During the Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II boxing match in Las Vegas, Mike Tyson bites off part of Evander Holyfield's ear.
===July===
* July 2 – Men in Black is released in theaters.
* July 4 – NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
* July 15 – Spree killer Andrew Cunanan shoots fashion designer Gianni Versace to death outside Versace's Miami Beach, Florida, residence.
* July 16 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 63.17 to close at 8,038.88. It is the Dow's first close above 8,000. The Dow has doubled its value in 30 months.
* July 18 – The first Speedway gas station opens in Ohio.
* July 21 – The fully restored USS Constitution (aka "Old Ironsides") celebrates her 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.
* July 23 – Digital Equipment Corporation files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel.
===August===
* August 1 – Steve Jobs returns to Apple Computer, Inc at Macworld in Boston.
* August 6 – Microsoft buys a $150 million share of financially troubled Apple Computer.
* August 6 – Korean Air Flight 801 crashes while attempting to land in the U.S. territory of Guam, killing 229.
===September===
* September 4 – In Lorain, Ohio, the last Ford Thunderbird for 3 years rolls off the assembly line.
* September 15 – www.google.com is registered by Google.
* September 29 – The Forced Abortion Condemnation Act is introduced in the U.S. Congress.
* September 30 – Facing increasing shifts to the use of GPS, the Omega radio navigation system is deactivated.
===October===
* October 1 – Luke Woodham walks into Pearl High School in Pearl, Mississippi and opens fire, killing two girls, after killing his mother earlier that morning.
* October 4
** One million men gather for Promise Keepers' "Stand in the Gap" event in Washington, DC.
** Loomis Fargo Bank Robbery: The second largest cash robbery in U.S. history ($17.3 million, mostly in small bills) occurs at the Charlotte, North Carolina, office of Wells Fargo. An FBI investigation eventually results in 24 convictions and the recovery of approximately 95% of the stolen cash.
* October 15
** Andy Green sets the first supersonic land speed record for the ThrustSSC team, led by Richard Noble of the UK. ThrustSSC goes through the flying mile course at Black Rock Desert, Nevada, at an average speed of 1,227.985 km/h (763.035 mph).
** NASA launches the Cassini-Huygens probe to Saturn.
* October 16 – The first color photograph appears on the front page of The New York Times.
* October 26 – 1997 World Series: The Florida Marlins defeat the Cleveland Indians.
* October 27 – Stock markets around the world crash due to a global economic crisis scare. The Dow Jones Industrial Average follows suit and plummets 554.26, or 7.18%, to 7,161.15. The points loss exceeds the loss from Black Monday. Officials at the New York Stock Exchange for the first time invoke the "circuit breaker" rule to stop trading.
* October 28 – In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average gains a record 337.17 points, closing at 7,498.32. One billion shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time ever.
* October 30 – In Newton, Massachusetts, British au pair Louise Woodward is found guilty of the baby-shaking death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen.
===November===
* November 1 – The unemployment rate drops to 4.6%, the lowest since October 1973.
* November 10
** Telecom companies WorldCom and MCI Communications announce a US$37 billion merger to form MCI WorldCom (the largest merger in U.S. history).
** A Fairfax, Virginia, jury finds Mir Qazi guilty of murdering two CIA employees in 1993.
* November 12 – Ramzi Yousef is found guilty of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
* November 14
** Mary Kay Letourneau is sentenced to six months imprisonment in Washington after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree child rape. Letourneau gave birth to her victims' child and the leniency of her sentence was widely criticized.
** Bee Gees live, One Night Only plays at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
* November 19 – In Des Moines, Iowa, Bobbi McCaughey gives birth to septuplets in the second known case where all seven babies are born alive, and the first in which all survive infancy.
* November 27 – NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission is launched, the start of the satellite component of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System.
===December===
* December 1 – Michael Carneal opens fire on a prayer group at Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky, killing three and injuring five.
* December 3 – In Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, representatives from 121 countries sign a treaty prohibiting the manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel land mines. However, the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Russia do not sign the treaty.
* December 19 – James Cameron's Titanic, the highest-grossing film of all time until Avatar (2009), premieres in the U.S.
==Memoriam==
===January===
* January 1 – Townes Van Zandt, Country-folk music singer-songwriter (aged 52; Smyrna, TN, USA)
* January 4 – Harry Helmsley, real estate mogul (aged 87; Scottsdale, AZ, USA)
* January 5 – Burton Lane, composer and lyricist (aged 84; New York City, NY, USA)
* January 6 – Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (aged 84; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* January 8 – Melvin Calvin, chemist (aged 85; Berkeley, CA, USA)
* January 9
** Jesse White, actor (aged 80; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Ellen Griffin Dunne, actress and activist (aged 64; Nogales, AZ, USA)
* January 10 – Sheldon Leonard, actor, director, and producer (aged 89; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* January 11 – Carol Habben, baseball player (aged 63; Ridgewood, NJ, USA)
* January 12 – Charles Brenton Huggins, Canadian-born cancer researcher (aged 95; Chicago, IL, USA)
* January 17 – Clyde Tombaugh, astronomer (aged 90; Las Cruces, NM, USA)
* January 18 – Paul Tsongas, politician (aged 55; Lowell, MA, USA)
* January 19
** James Dickey, poet and novelist (aged 73; Columbia, SC, USA)
** Adriana Caselotti, actress (aged 80; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* January 20 – Curt Flood, baseball player and sportscaster (aged 59; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* January 23 – Richard Berry, singer and composer (aged 61; Inglewood, CA, USA)
* January 24 – Dr. Jerry Graham, wrestler and trainer (aged 68; Glendale, CA, USA)
* January 25 – Jeane Dixon, astrologer (aged 93; Washington, DC, USA)
* January 26 – Laurence Stoddard, rower (aged 93; Southport, CT, USA)
* January 30 – Charles Hargens, painter (aged 103; Carversville, PA, USA)
* January 31 – Johnny Klein, drummer (aged 78; Torrance, CA, USA)
===February===
* February 1
** Herb Caen, newspaper columnist (aged 80; San Francisco, CA, USA)
** Marjorie Reynolds, actress (aged 79; Manhattan Beach, CA, USA)
* February 5 – Pamela Harriman, diplomat (aged 76; Paris, France)
* February 7 – Owen Aspinall, 45th Governor of American Samoa (aged 69; Mesa County, CO, USA)
* February 8 – Corey Scott, motorcycle stunt rider (aged 28; Miami, FL, USA)
* February 11 – Don Porter, actor (aged 84; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* February 13 – John R. Bartels, judge (aged 99; Brooklyn, NY, USA)
* February 16 – Ethel Owen, actress (aged 103; Savannah, GA, USA)
* February 23 – Tony Williams, musician (aged 51; Daly City, CA, USA)
* February 24 – Isabelle Lucas, Canadian-born British actress (aged 69; Kingston-upon-Thames, England, UK)
* February 26 – David Doyle, actor (aged 67; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
===March===
* March 2 – Judi Bari, environmental activist (aged 47; Willits, CA, USA)
* March 4
** Robert H. Dicke, experimental physicist (aged 80; Princeton, NJ, USA)
** Carey Loftin, actor and stuntman (aged 83; Huntington Beach, CA, USA)
* March 7 – Edward Mills Purcell, physicist (aged 84; Cambridge, MA, USA)
* March 9 – The Notorious B.I.G., rapper (aged 24; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* March 10 – LaVern Baker, singer (aged 67; Queens, NY, USA)
* March 15 – Gail Davis, actress (aged 71; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* March 17 – Jermaine Stewart, singer (aged 39; Homewood, IL, USA)
* March 20 – Tony Zale, boxer (aged 83; Portage, IN, USA)
* March 21
** Wilbert Awdry, English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author (aged 85; Rodborough, England, UK)
** John Nemechek, race car driver (aged 27; Homestead, FL, USA)
===April===
* April 5 – Allen Ginsberg, poet (aged 70; New York City, NY, USA)
* April 8 – Laura Nyro, singer and composer (aged 49; Danbury, CT, USA)
* April 10 – Michael Dorris, author (aged 52; Concord, NH, USA)
* April 12 – George Wald, scientist (aged 90; Cambridge, MA, USA)
* April 13 – Dorothy Frooks, author, military figure and actress (aged 101; New York City, NY, USA)
* April 15
** Don Bexley, actor and comedian (aged 87; Hampton, VA, USA)
** Mildred Cleghorn, Chairwoman of the Fort Sill Apache tribe (aged 86; Apache, OK, USA)
* April 16 – Doris Angleton, socialite (aged 46; Houston, TX, USA)
* April 20
** Jean Louis, costume designer (aged 89; Palm Springs, CA, USA)
** Henry Mucci, army ranger (aged 88; Melbourne, FL, USA)
* April 21 – Thomas H. D. Mahoney, professor and politician (aged 83; Palo Alto, CA, USA)
* April 24 – Pat Paulsen, comedian (aged 69; Tijuana, Mexico)
* April 26 – John Beal, actor (aged 87; Santa Cruz, CA, USA)
* April 27 – Paul Wing, Japanese-American dancer (aged 84; Yountville, CA, USA)
* April 30 – Henry Picard, golfer (aged 90; Charleston, SC, USA)
===May===
* May 4
** Alvy Moore, actor (aged 75; Palm Desert, CA, USA)
** Lee Miglin, businessman and philanthropist (aged 72; Chicago, IL, USA)
* May 11 – Howard Morton, actor (aged 71; Burbank, CA, USA)
* May 14
** Harry Blackstone Jr., magician (aged 62; Loma Linda, CA, USA)
** Thelma Carpenter, singer and actress (aged 75; New York City, NY, USA)
* May 18 – Bridgette Andersen, actress (aged 21; Los Angeles County, CA, USA)
* May 22 – Alfred Hershey, biochemist (aged 88; Syosset, NY, USA)
* May 23 – James Lee Byars, artist (aged 65; Cairo, Egypt)
* May 29 – Jeff Buckley, musician (aged 30; Memphis, TN, USA)
* May 31 – James Bennett Griffin, archaeologist (aged 92; Bethesda, MD, USA)
===June===
* June 2 – Helen Jacobs, tennis champion (aged 88; East Hampton, NY, USA)
* June 3 – Dennis James, game show host (aged 79; Palm Springs, CA, USA)
* June 6 – Magda Gabor, actress (aged 81; Palm Springs, CA, USA)
* June 8 – Reid Shelton, actor (aged 72; Portland, OR, USA)
* June 14 – Richard Jaeckel, actor (aged 70; Woodland Hills, CA, USA)
* June 23
** Betty Shabazz, educator and activist (aged 63; New York City, NY, USA)
** William Slater Brown, novelist, biographer and translator (aged 100; Rockport, MA, USA)
* June 24
** Don Hutson, American football player (aged 84; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA)
** Brian Keith, actor (aged 75; Malibu, CA, USA)
* June 26 – Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Hawaiian singer (aged 38; Honolulu, HI, USA)
* June 29 – William Hickey, actor (aged 69; New York City, NY, USA)
===July===
* July 1
** Robert Mitchum, actor (aged 79; Santa Barbara, CA, USA)
** Charles Werner, cartoonist (aged 88; Indianapolis, IN, USA)
* July 2 – James Stewart, actor and soldier (aged 89; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* July 4 – Charles Kuralt, reporter and television journalist (aged 62; New York City, NY, USA)
* July 5 – Mrs. Miller, singer (aged 89; Vista, CA, USA)
* July 13 – Alexandra Danilova, Russian-American ballerina and dance instructor (aged 93; New York City, NY, USA)
* July 15 – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer (aged 50; Miami Beach, FL, USA)
* July 18 – Eugene Merle Shoemaker, astronomer (aged 69; Alice Springs, Australia)
* July 23 – Andrew Cunanan, serial killer (aged 27; Miami Beach, FL, USA)
* July 24
** William J. Brennan Jr., Supreme Court Justice (aged 91; Arlington, VA, USA)
** Frank Parker, tennis champion (aged 81; San Diego, CA, USA)
* July 25 – Ben Hogan, golf champion (aged 84; Fort Worth, TX, USA)
* July 27 – K'tut Tantri, broadcaster and hotelier (aged 99; Sydney, Australia)
===August===
* August 2 – William S. Burroughs, writer and artist (aged 83; Lawrence, KS, USA)
* August 10 – Conlon Nancarrow, American-born composer (aged 84; Mexico City, Mexico)
* August 12 – Luther Allison, musician (aged 57; Madison, WI, USA)
* August 18 – Harry R. Wellman, university president (aged 98; Berkeley, CA, USA)
* August 25 – Carl Richard Jacobi, journalist and author (aged 89; St. Louis Park, MN, USA)
* August 27
** Sally Blane, actress (aged 87; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Brandon Tartikoff, television executive (aged 48; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
===September===
* September 2 – Rudolf Bing, Austrian-born British opera manager (aged 95; Yonkers, NY, USA)
* September 7 – Elisabeth Brooks, Canadian actress (aged 46; Palm Springs, CA, USA)
* September 8 – Helen Shaw, actress (aged 100; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* September 9
** Richie Ashburn, baseball player and broadcaster (aged 70; New York City, NY, USA)
** Burgess Meredith, actor (aged 89; Malibu, CA, USA)
* September 13
** Victor Szebehely, Hungarian-American astronomer (aged 76; Austin, TX, USA)
** Myra Tanner Weiss, Communist following Trotskyism (aged 80; Indio, CA, USA)
* September 15 – Thomas J. Parmley, academic (aged 99; Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
* September 17 – Red Skelton, comedian (aged 84; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA)
* September 18 – Jimmy Witherspoon, musician and blues singer (aged 77; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* September 19 – Rich Mullins, Christian musician (aged 41; Lostant, IL, USA)
* September 23
** Shirley Clarke, filmmaker (aged 77; Boston, MA, USA)
** Wilbur R. Ingalls Jr., architect (aged 74; Portland, ME, USA)
* September 26 – Dorothy Kingsley, screenwriter and producer (aged 87; Monterey, CA, USA)
* September 27 – Adriana Marines, murder victim (aged 5; Corpus Christi, TX, USA)
* September 29 – Roy Lichtenstein, artist (aged 73; New York City, NY, USA)
===October===
* October 1 – Jerome H. Lemelson, inventor (aged 74; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 5
** Brian Pillman, professional wrestler (aged 35; Bloomington, MN, USA)
** Arthur Tracy, singer (aged 98; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* October 6 – Johnny Vander Meer, baseball player (aged 82; Tampa, FL, USA)
* October 9 – Arch Johnson, actor (aged 75; Snow Hill, MD, USA)
* October 12 – John Denver, musician (aged 53; Pacific Grove, CA, USA)
* October 14 – Harold Robbins, writer (aged 81; Palm Springs, CA, USA)
* October 16
** Audra Lindley, actress (aged 79; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** James A. Michener, writer (aged 90; Austin, TX, USA)
* October 19 – Glen Buxton, guitarist (aged 49; Mason City, IA, USA)
* October 21 – Dolph Camilli, baseball player (aged 90; San Mateo, CA, USA)
* October 23 – Claire Falkenstein, sculptor, painter, printmaker, jewelry designer and teacher (aged 89; Venice, CA, USA)
* October 24 – Don Messick, voice actor (aged 71; Salinas, CA, USA)
* October 28 – Paul Jarrico, screenwriter (aged 82; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 29
** Andreas Gerasimos Michalitsianos, American astrophysicist (aged 50; Baltimore, MD, USA)
** Anton LaVey, American author and Satanist (aged 67; San Francisco, CA, USA)
* October 30 – Samuel Fuller, American screenwriter and director (aged 85; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
===November===
* November 1 – Victor Mills, chemical engineer (aged 100; Tucson, AZ, USA)
* November 11 – Rod Milburn, athlete (aged 47; Baton Rouge, LA, USA)
* November 13 – Dawud M. Mu'Min, murderer (aged 44; Jarratt, VA, USA)
* November 22 – Joanna Moore, actress (aged 63; Indian Wells, CA, USA)
* November 23 – Hulda Crooks, mountaineer (aged 101; Loma Linda, CA, USA)
* November 30 – Kathy Acker, author (aged 50; Tijuana, Mexico)
===December===
* December 2 – Michael Hedges, composer and guitarist (aged 43; Mendocino County, CA, USA)
* December 14 – Stubby Kaye, actor (aged 79; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA)
* December 16
** Lillian Disney, artist (aged 98; West Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Nicolette Larson, pop singer (aged 45; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* December 18 – Chris Farley, actor and comedian (aged 33; Chicago, IL, USA)
* December 19
** David Schramm, astrophysicist (aged 52; Denver, CO, USA)
** Jimmy Rogers, musician (aged 73; Chicago, IL, USA)
* December 20 – Denise Levertov, English-born poet (aged 74; Seattle, WA, USA)
* December 21 – Amie Comeaux, country singer (aged 21; Lacombe, LA, USA)
* December 23 – Stanley Cortez, cinematographer (aged 89; Hollywood, CA, USA)
* December 25 – Denver Pyle, actor (aged 77; Burbank, CA, USA)
* December 31
** Billie Dove, actress (aged 94; Woodland Hills, CA, USA)
** Michael LeMoyne Kennedy, socialite (aged 39; Aspen, CO, USA)
==External links==
* 1997 in the United States
Category:United States History: Volume 22