Information for the Year 1997

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  • Hebron agreement signed; Israel gives up large part of West Bank city of Hebron (Jan. 16). Israeli government approves establishment of Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, a setback in Middle East peace process (Feb. 26).
  • US, UK, and France agree to freeze Nazis' gold loot (Feb. 3).
  • Hong Kong returns to Chinese rule (June 30).
  • Khmer Rouge hold trial of longtime leader Pol Pot (July 25).
  • Swiss plan first payment to Holocaust victims (Sept. 17).
  • Israel elects Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister (May 31).
  • European Union plans to admit six nations (Dec. 13).
  • Population:   5.840 billion
  • Nobel Peace Prize:  International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Jody Williams (United States)
  • US shuttle joins Russian space station (Jan. 17).
  • O. J. Simpson found liable in civil suit (Feb. 5).
  • Clinton exercises new line-item veto (Aug. 11).
  • Timothy J. McVeigh sentenced to death for Oklahoma City bombing (Aug. 14).
  • Two convicted in New York Trade Center bombing (Nov. 12).
  • President:  William J. Clinton
  • Vice President:  Albert Gore, Jr
  • Population:  267,743,595
  • Life expectancy:  76.5 years
  • US GDP (1998 dollars):   $8,110.90 billion
  • Federal spending:  $1635.33 billion
  • Federal debt:   $5498.9 billion
  • Median Household Income(current dollars):$37,005
  • Consumer Price Index:   160.5
  • Unemployment:  4.9%
  • Cost of a first-class stamp:   $0.32
  • Super Bowl  Green Bay Packers defeated New England Patriots (SCORE 35-21)
  • World Series of Baseball  Florida Marlins defeated Cleveland
  • National Basketball Association Championship  Chicago defeated Utah
  • National Hockey League Stanley Cup  Detroit Red Wings defeated Philadelphia Flyers
  • Women Wimbledon Tennis  Martina Hingis defeated J. Novotna (2-6 6-3 6-3)
  • Men Wimbledon Tennis   Pete Sampras defeated C. Pioline (6-4 6-2 6-4)
  • Kentucky Derby Horse Race Champion   Silver Charm
  • National College Athletic Association Basketball Championship  Arizona defeated Kentucky (SCORE 84-79 in Over Time)
  • National College Athletic Association Football Champions  Michigan(RECORD 12-0-0) and Nebraska (RECORD 13-0-0)
  • The controversial television ratings system debuts on cable stations and broadcast networks. The ratings, TV-Y, TV-G, TV-Y7, TV-PG, TV-14 and TV-M, appear for 15 seconds in the upper left-hand corner of the screen at the beginning of each show, except news and sports programs, which are not rated.
  • Titanic crashes into theaters. It is the most expensive film of all time, costing between $250 and $300 million to produce and market.
  • J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone is published in the U.K. It comes to U.S. in 1998 as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
  • Academy Award, Best Picture:  The English Patient
  • Grammy Award - Record of the Year  Change the World by Eric Clapton
  • Emmy Award - Best Television Comedy   Frasier - NBC
  • Miss America:  Tara Dawn Holland (Kansas)
  • A team led by Drs. Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell (UK) create the first sheep with a human gene in every cell of its body. The genetically engineered lamb is named Dolly.
  • Comet Hale-Bopp is the closest it will be to Earth until 4397 (March 22).
  • US spacecraft begins exploration of Mars (July 4).
  • US company launches first commercial spy satellite (Dec. 24).

 

All of the Information on this site is from Fact Monster