Events

January

January 1 January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in the Gregorian Calendar; 364 days remain until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the year. __TOC__ Events ...

– The

Emergency Alert System The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a Emergency population warning, national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via Cable television, cable ...

is introduced in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. *

January 11 Events Pre-1600 * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence. * 630 – Conquest of Mecca: Muhammad and his ...

–

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

threatens

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. *

January 16 Events Pre-1600 * 1458 BC – Hatshepsut dies at the age of 50 and is buried in the Valley of the Kings. * 27 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the R ...

– Murder of Ennis Cosby: Near

Interstate 405 (California) Interstate 405 (I-405, locally referred to as the 405) is a major north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in Southern California. The entire route is known as the northern segment of the San Diego Freeway. I-405 is a bypass auxiliar ...

on a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

freeway,

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

's son Ennis is shot in the head in a failed robbery attempt. *

January 17 Events Pre-1600 * 38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey. * 1362 – Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 peopl ...

– A

Delta II Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas, and sometimes known as the Thorad Delta 1. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family, derived directly from the Delta 3000, and entered service in ...

rocket carrying a military

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

payload explodes, shortly after liftoff from

Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral () is a cape (geography), cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated ...

. *

January 18 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later. * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail. * 1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the C ...

– In northwest

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great L ...

militia members kill 6 Spanish aid workers and three soldiers, and seriously wound another. *

January 19 Events Pre-1600 * 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to '' Augustus'', and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. * 649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surren ...

–

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

returns to

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

after more than 30 years, and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

city. (→

Hebron Agreement The Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron, also known as the Hebron Protocol or Hebron Agreement, was signed on 17 January 1997 by Israel, represented by Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Palestine Liberation Organiz ...

) *

January 23 Events Pre-1600 * 393 – Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor. * 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao. * 1229 ...

–

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...

becomes the first female Secretary of State of the United States, after confirmation by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. *

January 26 Events Pre-1600 * 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph. * 1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people. * 1564 – The Council of T ...

– VJTI changes its name from Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute to Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute in Mumbai.

February

February 4 Events Pre–1600 * 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrellin ...

** On their way to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, two Israeli troop-transport helicopters collide, killing all 73 on board. ** After at first contesting the results,

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n President

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

recognizes opposition victories in the November 1996 elections. ** A magnitude 6.5 earthquake strikes North Khorasan province, Iran, killing 88 people and injuring 1,948.

National Geophysical Data Center The United States National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) provided scientific stewardship, products and services for geophysical data describing the solid earth, marine, and solar-terrestrial environment, as well as earth observations from spac ...

/ World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database.

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploratio ...

National Centers for Environmental Information The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is a U.S. government agency that manages one of the world's largest archives of atmospheric, coastal, geophysical, and oceanic data. The current director is Deke Arndt. NCEI is operate ...

. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K *

February 10 Events Pre-1600 * 1258 – The Siege of Baghdad ends with the surrender of the last Abbasid caliph to Hulegu Khan, a prince of the Mongol Empire. * 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bru ...

–

Sandline affair The Sandline affair was a political scandal that became one of the defining moments in the history of Papua New Guinea, and particularly Bougainville conflict. It brought down the government of Sir Julius Chan, and brought Papua New Guinea to th ...

: Australian newspapers publish stories that the government of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

has brought mercenaries onto

Bougainville Island Bougainville Island (; Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is . The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at . The much smaller Buk ...

. *

February 13 Events Pre-1600 * 962 – Emperor Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I and Pope Pope John XII, John XII co-sign the ''Diploma Ottonianum'', recognizing John as ruler of Rome. *1258 – Siege of Baghdad (1258), Siege of Baghdad: Hulegu Kh ...

– ''

STS-82 STS-82 was the 22nd flight of the Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Discovery, ''Discovery'' and the 82nd mission of the Space Shuttle program. It was NASA's second mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, during which ''Discovery's'' crew repai ...

'': Tune-up and repair work on the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the Orbiting Solar Observatory, first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most ...

is started by

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

s from the Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. *

February 28 Events Pre-1600 *202 BC – Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty. * 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople (Roman Catholic), Fourth Council of Co ...

–

North Hollywood shootout The North Hollywood shootout, also known as the Battle of North Hollywood, was a confrontation between two heavily armed and armored bank robbers, Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Mătăsăreanu, and police officers in the North Hollywood neighborho ...

: Two robbers, wearing

kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as ...

body armor, and armed with illegally modified Type 56S rifles with high-capacity magazines and other weapons, injure 20 police officers and civilians in a gun battle. The incident sparks debate on the appropriate firepower for United States patrol officers to have available in similar situations in the future.

March

March 4 Events Pre-1600 * AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title '' princeps iuventutis'' (head of the youth). * 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. * 581 – Yang Jian declares himself Emperor ...

– U.S. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

bans federal funding for any research on

human cloning Human cloning is the creation of a genetically Cloning, identical copy of a human. The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning, which is the reproduction of human Cell (biology), cells and Tissue (biology), tissue. It does ...

. *

March 7 Events Pre-1600 * 161 – Marcus Aurelius and L. Commodus (who changes his name to Lucius Verus) become joint emperors of Rome on the death of Antoninus Pius. * 1138 – Konrad III von Hohenstaufen was elected king of Germany at Cobl ...

– In

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, the

Tamil Tigers The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

overrun a military base and kill over 100 Sri Lankan troops. *

March 9 Events Pre-1600 *141 BC – Liu Che, Posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China. *1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the Annals of Quedlinburg, annals of the mo ...

– American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. is

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excu ...

. *

March 13 Events Pre-1600 * 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander. * 624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Mu ...

** India's Missionaries of Charity chooses Sister Nirmala, to succeed

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

as its leader. ** The

National People's Congress The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...

of the People's Republic of China creates a new

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

Municipality, out of part of

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

. *

March 16 Events Pre-1600 * 1190 – Massacre of Jews at Clifford's Tower, York. * 1244 – Over 200 Cathars who refuse to recant are burnt to death after the Fall of Montségur. * 1355 – Amidst the Red Turban Rebellions, Han Lin'er, ...

–

: On

, soldiers of commander Jerry Singirok arrest

Tim Spicer Timothy Simon Spicer, (born 1952) is a former British Army officer, and former CEO of the private security company Aegis Defence Services. He served in the Falklands War and in Northern Ireland. He founded Sandline International, a private ...

and his

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

of the Sandline International. *

March 18 Events Pre-1600 * 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10. * 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ar ...

– The tail of a Russian An-24 charter plane breaks off while en route to Turkey, causing the plane to crash, killing all 50 on board, and resulting in the grounding of all An-24s. *

March 21 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the '' Vivarium'', by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas ...

– In

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

Étienne Tshisekedi Étienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba also Known as Tshisekedi The Father (14 December 1932 – 1 February 2017) was a Congolese politician and the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), formerly the main opposition political pa ...

is appointed prime minister; he ejects supporters of

Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...

from his cabinet. *

March 22 Events Pre-1600 * 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea. * 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century. * 871 – Æthel ...

– The

Comet Hale–Bopp Comet Hale–Bopp (formally designated C/1995 O1) is a long-period comet that was one of the most widely observed of the 20th century and one of the brightest seen for many decades. Alan Hale (astronomer), Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp disc ...

makes its closest approach to Earth. *

March 24 Events Pre-1600 *1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6. * 1387 – English victory over a Franco- Castilian- Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margat ...

– The

69th Academy Awards The 69th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) took place on March 24, 1997, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremo ...

, hosted by

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. ...

, are held at the

Shrine Auditorium The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, an ...

, with ''

The English Patient ''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main charact ...

'' winning

Best Picture The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

. During the event, the

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

format is launched in the United States. *

– 26 – In

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, 39 Heaven's Gate cultists commit

mass suicide Mass suicide is a form of suicide, occurring when a group of people simultaneously kill themselves. Mass suicide sometimes occurs in religious settings. In war, defeated groups may resort to mass suicide rather than being captured. Suicide pacts ...

at their compound. *

March 26 Events Pre-1600 * 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. * 624 – First Eid al-Fitr celebration. * 1021 – The death of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, kept secret ...

–

Julius Chan Sir Julius Chan (29 August 1939 – 30 January 2025) was a Papua New Guinean politician who served as Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1980 to 1982 and from 1994 to 1997. He was Member of Parliament for New Ireland Province, having won t ...

resigns as prime minister of Papua New Guinea, effectively ending the

April

April 3 Events Pre-1600 * 686 – Maya king Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk' assumes the crown of Calakmul. * 1043 – Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England. * 1077 – The Patriarchate of Friûl, the first Friulian state, is created. ...

– The

Thalit massacre The Thalit massacre took place in Thalit village (Médéa, near Ksar el Boukhari), some 70 km from Algiers, on April 3–4, 1997 during the Algerian Civil War. Fifty-two out of the 53 inhabitants were killed by having their throats cut durin ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

: all but 1 of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas. *

April 14 Events Pre-1600 * 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum. * 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor ...

** Fire breaks out in a pilgrim camp on the Plain of Mena, from

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

; 343 die. ** Former SS Captain Erich Priebke is retried; on

July 22 Events Pre-1600 * 838 – Battle of Anzen: The Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffers a heavy defeat by the Abbasids. *1099 – First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of ...

he is sentenced to fifteen years in prison. *

April 18 Events Pre-1600 * 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days. * 1428 – Peace of Ferrara ...

– The

Red River of the North The Red River (), also called the Red River of the North () to differentiate it from the Red River of the South, Red River in the south of the continent, is a river in the north-central United States and central Canada. Originating at the confl ...

breaks through dikes and

floods A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

, and

East Grand Forks, Minnesota East Grand Forks (also known as EGF) is a city in Polk County, Minnesota, Polk County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Polk County's largest community. It is in the Red ...

, causing US$2 billion in damage. *

April 21 Events Pre-1600 * 753 BC – Romulus founds Rome ( traditional date). * 43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is mur ...

– A

Pegasus rocket Pegasus is an Air launch to orbit, air-launched launch vehicle, multistage rocket developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) and later built and launched by Northrop Grumman. Pegasus is the world's first privately developed orbital laun ...

carries the remains of 24 people into earth orbit, in the first space burial by Celestis company. *

April 22 Events Pre-1600 * 1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil ( discovery of Brazil). * 1519 – Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico. * 1529 – Treaty of Zara ...

** Haouch Khemisti massacre: 93 villagers are killed in

. ** A 126-day hostage crisis at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. *

April 23 Events Pre-1600 * 215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene. *599 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacks rival city-state Palenque in so ...

– 42 villagers are killed in the

Omaria massacre The largest Omaria massacre took place on 23 April 1997 in the Algerian village of El Omaria near Médéa, south of Algiers. Attackers armed with knives, sabers, and guns killed 42 people - including 17 women and 3 babies - in 3 hours, mutilating ...

in Algeria. *

April 29 Events Pre-1600 * 801 – An earthquake in the Central Apennines hits Rome and Spoleto, damaging the basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura. * 1091 – Battle of Levounion: The Pechenegs are defeated by Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Kom ...

** The

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW; French: ''Organisation pour l'interdiction des armes chimiques'', OIAC) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), ...

(OPCW), CWC treaty enters into force. ** Two trains crash at

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

, China; 126 are killed.

May

May 1 Events Pre-1600 * 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor. * 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches. * 1169 & ...

–

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

becomes

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

, as the Labour Party wins the

1997 United Kingdom general election The 1997 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 1 May 1997. The governing Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party led by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister John Major was defeated in a Landslide victory, la ...

and returns to government for the first time in 18 years. *

May 9 Events Pre-1600 * 328 – Athanasius is elected Patriarch of Alexandria. * 1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. * 1386 – England and Portugal formall ...

– The first genetically modified three-parent baby is born. *

May 10 Events Pre-1600 * 28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China. * 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of ...

– The 7.3 Qayen earthquake strikes eastern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). At least 1,567 were killed and 2,300 were injured. *

May 11 Events Pre-1600 * 330 – Constantine the Great dedicates the much-expanded and rebuilt city of Byzantium, changing its name to New Rome and declaring it the new capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. *868 – A copy of the Diamond Sūtr ...

–

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

's Deep Blue defeats

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...

in the last game of the rematch, the first time a computer beats a

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

World champion in a match. *

May 12 Events Pre-1600 * 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism. * 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the ...

**The Russia–Chechnya Peace Treaty is signed. **An F1-rated tornado strikes downtown

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, causing $525,000 in damages. Pictures and videos of this tornado made news headlines around the world. *

May 15 Events Pre-1600 * 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty. * 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurpe ...

– The United States government acknowledges existence of the "Secret War" in Laos (

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

–

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

) during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ...

and other "Secret War" veterans. *

May 16 Events Pre-1600 * 946 – Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan. * 1204 – Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. *13 ...

First Congo War The First Congo War, also known as Africa's First World War, was a Civil war, civil and international military conflict that lasted from 24 October 1996 to 16 May 1997, primarily taking place in Zaire (which was renamed the Democratic Republi ...

ends when president

is exiled from

. ** U.S. President

issues a formal apology to the surviving victims of the

Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male (informally referred to as the Tuskegee Experiment or Tuskegee Syphilis Study) was a study conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the United States Public Health Service (PHS) and the Cent ...

and their families. *

May 17 Events Pre-1600 * 1395 – Battle of Rovine: The Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army. * 1521 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason. * 1527 – Pánfilo de Narváez departs Spain to explo ...

– Troops of

Laurent Kabila Laurent may refer to: *Laurent (name), a French masculine given name and a surname **Saint Laurence (aka: Saint ''Laurent''), the martyr Laurent **Pierre Alphonse Laurent, mathematician **Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent, amateur astronomer, discoverer ...

march into

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

. *

May 21 Events Pre-1600 * 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as '' Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy. * 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlab ...

–

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

release

OK Computer ''OK Computer'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 21 May 1997. With their producer, Nigel Godrich, Radiohead recorded most of ''OK Computer'' in their rehearsal space in Oxfordshire and the historic m ...

May 23 Events Pre-1600 * 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction. * 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy. *1533 – The marriage of King Henry ...

Mohammad Khatami Mohammad Khatami (born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to 1992. Later, he was critic ...

wins the 1997 Iranian presidential election and becomes the first

ian

Reformist Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. **A

riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

Banjarmasin Banjarmasin is the largest city in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. It was the capital of the province until 15 February 2022. The city is located on a delta island near the junction of the Barito and Martapura rivers. Historically the centre of t ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

breaks out, causing at least 137 deaths. *

May 25 Events Pre-1600 * 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans. * 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes ...

– A

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

replaces President

Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (16 February 1932 – 13 March 2014) was a Sierra Leonean politician who served twice as the 3rd President of Sierra Leone, from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007. An economist and attorney by profession, Kab ...

with Major Johnny Paul Koroma. *

May 27 Events Pre-1600 * 1096 – Count Emicho enters Mainz, where his followers massacre Jewish citizens. At least 600 Jews are killed. * 1120 – Richard III of Capua is anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death. * 1153 &nda ...

– The fourth-deadliest tornado of the 1990s hits in

Jarrell, Texas Jarrell is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The total population is 1,753 according to the 2020 census. The city is north of Georgetown and from Round Rock, as well as being incorporated within the Greater Austin statistica ...

, killing 27 people and causing extreme damage in the Double Creek Estates. *

May 31 Events Pre-1600 * 455 – Emperor Petronius Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome. * 1215 – Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by th ...

– The 13-kilometer

Confederation Bridge The Confederation Bridge () is a box girder bridge carrying the Trans-Canada Highway across the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait, linking the province of Prince Edward Island with the mainland province of New Brunswick. Opened ...

, the world's longest bridge spanning ice-covered waters, opens between

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

and

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada.

June

June 1 Events Pre-1600 * 1252 – Alfonso X is proclaimed king of Castile and León. * 1298 – Residents of Riga and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeat the Livonian Order in the Battle of Turaida. * 1495 – A monk, John Cor, rec ...

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

-led Centre-left coalition won the second-round in 1997 French legislative elections, began with the third

Cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a Romance (love), romantic or Sexual intercourse, sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. ...

(1997–2002). ** Hugo Banzer wins the

Presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. *

June 2 Events Pre-1600 * 260 – Sima Zhao's regicide of Cao Mao: The figurehead Wei emperor Cao Mao personally leads an attempt to oust his regent, Sima Zhao; the attempted coup is crushed and the emperor killed. * 455 – Sack of Rome: ...

– In

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist who masterminded and perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The bombing itself killed 167 people (including 19 children), injured ...

is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Perpetr ...

. *

June 10 Events Pre-1600 * 671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock ( clepsydra) called ''Rokoku''. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu. * 1190 – Third Crusade: Frederic ...

–

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

leader

Pol Pot Pol Pot (born Saloth Sâr; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian politician, revolutionary, and dictator who ruled the communist state of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 until Cambodian–Vietnamese War, his overthrow in 1979. During ...

orders the killing of his defense chief,

Son Sen Son Sen ( ; 12 June 1930 – 15 June 1997), alias Comrade Khieu () or "Brother Number 89", was a Cambodian Communist politician and soldier. A member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea/ Party of Democratic Kampuch ...

, and 11 of Sen's family members, before Pol Pot flees his northern stronghold. *

June 11 Events Pre-1600 * 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty ( 171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called "miracle ...

– In the United Kingdom, the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

votes for a total ban on

handgun A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun, long barreled gun (i.e., carbine, rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, or machine gun) which typically is intended to be held by both hands and br ...

s. *

June 13 Events Pre-1600 * 313 – The decisions of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius, granting religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire, are published in Nicomedia. * 1325 – Ibn ...

– A jury sentences

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

for his part in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. *

June 16 Events Pre-1600 * 632 – Yazdegerd III ascends the throne as king (''shah'') of the Persian Empire. He becomes the last ruler of the Sasanian dynasty (modern Iran). *1407 – Ming–Hồ War: Retired King Hồ Quý Ly and his son K ...

– About 50 people are killed in the Daïat Labguer (M'sila) massacre in Algeria. *

June 21 Events Pre-1600 * 533 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarios sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily. * 1307 – Külüg Khan is enthroned as Khagan of the Mongols and Wuzong o ...

– The Women's National Basketball Association ( WNBA) plays its first game at The Great Western Forum in Los Angeles. * June 25 ** A massive eruption of the

Soufrière Hills The Soufrière Hills () is an active, complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. After a long period of dormancy, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active in 1995 and continued to e ...

volcano on the island of

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

leads to evacuation and eventual abandonment of the capital,

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. ** An uncrewed spacecraft Progress M-34 collides with the Russian space station Mir. *

June 26 Events Pre-1600 *4 AD, 4 – Augustus adopts Tiberius. * 221 – Roman emperor Elagabalus adopts his cousin Alexander Severus as his heir and receives the title of Caesar (title), Caesar. * 363 – Roman emperor Julian (emperor), J ...

–

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...

is appointed as the 10th

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and

Mary Harney Mary Harney (born 11 March 1953) is an Irish former politician and the former Chancellor of the University of Limerick. She was leader of the Progressive Democrats party between 1993 and 2006 and again from 2007 to 2008, resuming the role afte ...

is appointed as the 16th, and first female,

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the second-ranking member of the government of Ireland and the holder of its second-most senior office. It is the equivalent of the deputy prime minister in other parliamentary systems. The Tánaiste is appointed by the P ...

, after their parties,

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

and the

Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats (, literally "The Democratic Party"), commonly referred to as the PDs, were a conservative liberal political party in Ireland. The party's history spanned 24 years, from its formation in 1985 to its dissolution in 20 ...

respectively, win the 1997 General Election.

July

July July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., being the month of his birth. Before the ...

– The

1997 Central European flood The 1997 Central European flood or the 1997 Oder Flood of the Oder and Morava (river), Morava river basins in July 1997 affected Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, taking the lives of 114 people and causing material damages estimated at $4. ...

occurs across Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. *

July 1 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. * 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and ...

– The United Kingdom hands sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. *

July 2 This date marks the halfway point of the year. In common years, the midpoint of the year occurs at noon on this date, while in leap years, it occurs at midnight (start of the day). Events Pre-1600 * 437 – Emperor Valentinian III begin ...

– The Bank of Thailand floats the

baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

, triggering the

Asian financial crisis The 1997 Asian financial crisis gripped much of East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide economic meltd ...

. *

July 4 Events Pre-1600 * 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and procla ...

–

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Pathfinder Pathfinder, Path Finder or Pathfinders may refer to: Aerospace * ''Mars Pathfinder'', a NASA Mars Lander * NASA Pathfinder, a high-altitude, solar-powered uncrewed aircraft * Space Shuttle ''Pathfinder'', a Space Shuttle test simulator Arts and ...

space probe lands on the surface of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

. *

July 5 Events Pre-1600 * 328 – The official opening of Constantine's Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava ( Corabia, Romania) and Oescus ( Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius. * 1316 – The Burgundian ...

** In Cambodia,

Hun Sen Samdech Hun Sen (; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the List of presidents of the Senate (Cambodia), president of the Senate. He previous ...

of the

Cambodian People's Party The Cambodian People's Party (CPP; , UNGEGN: ) is a Cambodian political party which has ruled the country since 1979. Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP). During the Cold War it allied ...

overthrows

Norodom Ranariddh Norodom Ranariddh (; 2 January 1944 – 28 November 2021, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: , Romanization of Khmer#ALA-LC Romanization Tables, ALA-LC: ) was a Cambodian politician and law academic. He was the second son of King Norodom S ...

in a coup. ** The Egyptian Islamic Group announces a cessation-of-violence initiative. *

July 8 Events Pre-1600 * 1099 – Some 15,000 starving Christian soldiers begin the siege of Jerusalem by marching in a religious procession around the city as its Muslim defenders watch. * 1167 – The Byzantines defeat the Hungarian army ...

–

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

invites the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

to join the alliance in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. *

July 10 Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Emperor Hadrian of Rome dies of heart failure at his residence on the bay of Naples, Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina. * 420 – Having usurped the throne ...

– In London, scientists report their

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

analysis findings from a

Neanderthal Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...

skeleton, which support the out of Africa theory of

human evolution ''Homo sapiens'' is a distinct species of the hominid family of primates, which also includes all the great apes. Over their evolutionary history, humans gradually developed traits such as Human skeletal changes due to bipedalism, bipedalism, de ...

, placing an " African Eve" at 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. *

July 11 Events Pre-1600 * 813 – Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and becomes a monk (under the name Athanasius). * 911 – Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair ...

– Royal Jomtien Resort Hotel fire at

Pattaya Pattaya is a city in Eastern Thailand, the second-largest city in Chonburi province and the List of municipalities in Thailand, eighth-largest city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, and h ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

's worst hotel fire, kills 90. *

July 13 Events Pre-1600 *1174 – William the Lion, William I of Scotland, a key Rebellion, rebel in the Revolt of 1173–74, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Henry II of England. *1249 – Coronation of Alexander III of Scotland, Ale ...

– The remains of

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

are returned to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

for burial, alongside some of his comrades. Guevara and his comrades were executed on October 9

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

. *

July 15 Events Pre-1600 * 484 BC – Dedication of the Temple of Castor and Pollux in ancient Rome * 70 – First Jewish–Roman War: Titus and his armies breach the walls of Jerusalem. ( 17th of Tammuz in the Hebrew calendar). * 756 &ndas ...

–

Spree killer A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders in a short time, often in multiple locations. There are different opinions about what durations of time a killing spree may take place in. The United States ...

Andrew Cunanan shoots fashion designer

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up ...

dead outside Versace's

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

residence. *

July 17 Events Pre-1600 * 180 – Twelve inhabitants of Scillium (near Kasserine, modern-day Tunisia) in North Africa are executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world. * 1048 – Dama ...

– The

F. W. Woolworth Company The F. W. Woolworth Company (often referred to as Woolworth's or simply Woolworth) was a retail company and one of the pioneers of the five-and-dime store. It was among the most successful American and international five-and-dime businesses, se ...

closes after 117 years in business. *

July 25 Events Pre-1600 * 306 – Constantine I is proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops. * 315 – The Arch of Constantine is completed near the Colosseum in Rome to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridg ...

–

K. R. Narayanan Kocheril Raman "K. R." Narayanan (27 October 1920 – 9 November 2005) was an Indian statesman, diplomat, academic, and politician who served as the vice president of India from 1992 to 1997 and president of India from 1997 to 2002. Naray ...

is sworn in as India's 10th president and the first member of the

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

caste to hold this office. * July 27 – About 50 are killed in the Si Zerrouk massacre in Algeria. *

July 30 Events Pre-1600 * 762 – Baghdad is founded. * 1419 – First Defenestration of Prague: A crowd of radical Hussites kill seven members of the Prague city council. * 1502 – Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay I ...

– 18 people are killed in the Thredbo landslide in the

Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range, a cordillera syste ...

resort in Australia.

August

* August 3 – Between 40 and 76 villagers are killed in the

Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre The Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre took place on August 2, 1997. This massacre occurred between two villages near Arib in the ''wilaya'' of Tipaza and Ain Defla, Algeria. Around 100 people were killed as a result of the massacre. This massacr ...

in Algeria. * August 3– 11 – Two of the three islands of the

Union of the Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moro ...

–

Anjouan Anjouan () is an autonomous volcanic island in the Comoro Islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, part of the Comoros, Union of the Comoros. It is known in Comorian languages, Shikomori as Ndzuani, Ndzuwani or Nzwani, and, until the early twentie ...

and

Mohéli Mohéli , also known as Mwali, is an autonomously-governed island that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. It is the smallest of the three major islands in the country. It is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa and it is the ...

– attempt to revert to colonial rule by France. The plan fails when the French government of President

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

refuses to recolonize them, resulting in the two islands being reintegrated into the Comoros over the next two years. *

August 4 Events Pre-1600 * 598 – Goguryeo–Sui War#Course of the war, Goguryeo-Sui War: In response to a Goguryeo (Korean) incursion into Liaoxi, Emperor Emperor Wen of Sui, Wéndi of Sui dynasty, Sui orders his youngest son, Yang Liang (assiste ...

–

Jeanne Calment Jeanne Louise Calment (; 21 February 1875 – 4 August 1997) was a French supercentenarian. With a documented lifespan of 122 years and 164 days, she was the oldest people, oldest person in history whose age has been verified. Her longevity at ...

, the verified oldest person to have ever lived, dies at 122 years and 164 days. *

August 6 Events Pre-1600 *686 – The Ummayad forces suffer a deceisive defeat against the pro-Alid forces under Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar in the battle of Khazir. *1284 – The Republic of Pisa is defeated in the Battle of Meloria (1284), Battle o ...

–

Korean Air Flight 801 Korean Air Flight 801 (KE801, KAL801) was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Korean Air, from Gimpo International Airport, Seoul to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam. On August 6, 1997, the Boeing 747-300 operatin ...

crash lands west of Guam International Airport, resulting in the deaths of 228 people. *

August 13 Events Pre-1600 * 29 BC – Octavian holds the first of three consecutive triumphs in Rome to celebrate the victory over the Dalmatian tribes. * 523 – John I becomes the new Pope after the death of Pope Hormisdas. * 554 &ndash ...

–

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative part ...

and

Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon (musical), The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his cre ...

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

television comedy

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

, started broadcasting with the first episode,

Cartman Gets an Anal Probe "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is the series premiere of the American animated television series ''South Park''. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 13, 1997. The episode introduces child protagonists Eric Cartman, ...

, on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

. *

August 20 Events Pre-1600 *AD 14 – Agrippa Postumus, maternal grandson of the late Roman emperor Augustus, is mysteriously executed by his guards while in exile. * 636 – Battle of Yarmouk: Arabs, Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take c ...

– More than 60 are killed, 15 kidnapped in the Souhane massacre in Algeria. *

August 26 Events Pre-1600 * 683 – Yazid I's army kills 11,000 people of Medina including notable Sahabas in Battle of al-Harrah. * 1071 – The Seljuq Turks defeat the Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikert, and soon gain control of most o ...

** 60–100 are killed in the Beni Ali massacre in Algeria. ** The

Independent International Commission on Decommissioning The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) was established to oversee the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons in Northern Ireland, as part of the peace process. Legislation and organisation An earlier international bo ...

is set up in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, as part of a

peace process A peace process is the set of political sociology, sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of ...

. *

August 29 Events Pre-1600 * 708 – Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708). * 870 – The city of Melite surrenders to an Aghlabid army following a siege, putting an end to Byzanti ...

** Over 98 (and possibly up to 400) are killed in the Rais massacre in Algeria. ** Netflix, Inc. is founded as a DVD-by-mail rental service. *

August 31 Events Pre-1600 * 1056 – After a sudden illness a few days previously, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies childless, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty. * 1057 – Abdication of Byzantine Emperor Michael VI Bringas after just one ye ...

–

Death of Diana, Princess of Wales During the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died from injuries sustained earlier that night in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz ...

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

, is taken to a hospital after a car accident shortly after midnight, in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris. She is pronounced dead at 4:00 am.

September

September 1 Events Pre-1600 * 1145 – The main altar of Lund Cathedral, at the time the seat of the archiepiscopal see of all the Nordic countries, is consecrated. *1173 – The widow Stamira sacrifices herself in order to raise the siege of A ...

–

Dublin Regulation The Dublin Regulation (Regulation No. 604/2013; sometimes the Dublin III Regulation; previously the Dublin II Regulation and Dublin Convention) is a Regulation of the European Union that determines which EU member state is responsible for the ...

on treatment of applications for

right of asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, such as a second country or another enti ...

under

European Union law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

first comes into force. * September 5 ** Over 87 are killed in the Beni Messous massacre in Algeria. ** The

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

picks

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Greece, to be the host city for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. *

September 6 Events Pre-1600 * 394 – Battle of the Frigidus: Roman emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills Eugenius the usurper. His Frankish ''magister militum'' Arbogast escapes but commits suicide two days later. *1492 – Christopher Co ...

– The

funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, started on Saturday 6 September 1997 at 9:08am in London, when the tenor bell of Westminster Abbey started tolling to signal the departure of the cortège from Kensington Palace. Diana's coffin was ...

, takes place at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, London, UK, watched by over two billion people worldwide. *

September 11 Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...

–

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

votes in favour of a

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

Parliament, forming the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

less than two years later *

September 15 Events Pre-1600 * 994 – Major Fatimid victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of the Orontes. * 1440 – Gilles de Rais, one of the earliest known serial killers, is taken into custody upon an accusation brought against hi ...

– The Norwegian parliamentary election is held in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. *

September 18 Events Pre-1600 * 96 – Emperor Domitian is assassinated as a result of a plot by his wife Domitia and two Praetorian prefects. Nerva is then proclaimed as his successor. * 324 – Constantine the Great decisively defeats Licinius i ...

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

carries out a

terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war a ...

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. **

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

votes in favour of

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...

and the formation of a

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

. *

September 20 Events Pre-1600 *1058 – Agnes of Poitou and Andrew I of Hungary meet to negotiate about the border territory of Burgenland. *1066 – At the Battle of Fulford, Harald Hardrada defeats earls Morcar and Edwin. * 1187 – Saladin ...

– 53 people are killed in the Guelb El-Kebir massacre in Algeria. *

September 21 Events Pre-1600 * 455 – Emperor Avitus enters Italy with a Gallic army and consolidates his power. * 1170 – Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland: The Kingdom of Dublin falls to Anglo-Norman invaders. * 1217 – Livonian Crusa ...

** The Islamic Salvation Army, the

Islamic Salvation Front The Islamic Salvation Front (; , FIS) was an Islamist political party in Algeria. The party had two major leaders representing its two bases of its support; Abbassi Madani appealed to pious small businessmen, and Ali Belhadj appealed to the a ...

s' armed wing, declares a unilateral ceasefire in Algeria. ** St. Olaf's Church, a stone church from the 16th century in

Tyrvää Tyrvää (; ) was a municipality in the Satakunta region, Turku and Pori Province, Finland. It was established in 1439 when the Tyrvää parish was separated from the parish of Karkku. In 1915, the market town of Vammala was separated from Tyrvä ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, is burnt down. *

September 26 Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to Venus Genetrix, fulfilling a vow he made at the Battle of Pharsalus. * 715 – Ragenfrid defeats Theudoald at the Battle of Compiègne. * 1087 – William II is c ...

** Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 crashes while on approach to

Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...

North Sumatra North Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It borders Aceh to the northwest, Riau to the sou ...

, during the

1997 Southeast Asian haze The 1997 Southeast Asian haze was an international air pollution disaster that occurred during the second half of 1997, its after-effects causing widespread atmospheric visibility and health problems within Southeast Asia. Considered the most ...

, killing all 234 people on board. This becomes the deadliest aviation accident in Indonesian history. ** An

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

strikes the Italian regions of

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

and

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at

Assisi Assisi (, also ; ; from ; Central Italian: ''Ascesi'') is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Prope ...

to collapse.

October

October 1 Events Pre-1600 * 331 BC – Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. * 366 – Pope Damasus I is consecrated. * 959 – Edgar the Peaceful becomes king of all England, in succession to E ...

– Luke Woodham walks into Pearl High School in

Pearl, Mississippi Pearl is a city located in Rankin County, Mississippi, United States, on the east side of the Pearl River across from the state capital Jackson. The population was 27,115 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Jackson, Mississippi metropoli ...

and opens fire, killing two girls, after killing his mother earlier that morning. *

October 2 Events Pre-1600 * 829 – Theophilos succeeds his father Michael II as Byzantine Emperor. * 939 – Battle of Andernach: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, crushes a rebellion against his rule, by a coalition of Eberhard of Franconia an ...

– British scientists Moira Bruce and John Collinge, with their colleagues, independently show that the new variant form of the

Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) is an incurable, always fatal neurodegenerative disease belonging to the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) group. Early symptoms include memory problems, behavioral changes, poor coordination, visu ...

is the same disease as

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and always fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of th ...

. *

October 3 Events Pre-1600 * 2457 BC – Gaecheonjeol, Hwanung (환웅) purportedly descended from heaven. South Korea's National Foundation Day. * 52 BC – Gallic Wars: Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Julius ...

– The

President of Paraguay The president of Paraguay (), officially known as the president of the Republic of Paraguay (), is the head of the executive branch of the government of Paraguay, serving as both head of state and head of government according to the Constitu ...

, Juan Carlos Wasmosy, orders the arrest of political opponent

Lino Oviedo Lino César Oviedo Silva (23 September 1943 – 2 February 2013) was a Paraguayan army officer and politician, who was the leader of the National Union of Ethical Citizens, which split from the Colorado Party (Paraguay), Colorado Party in 2002. ...

. *

October 10 Events Pre-1600 * 19 – The Roman general Germanicus dies near Antioch. He was convinced that the mysterious illness that ended in his death was a result of poisoning by the Syrian governor Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, whom he had ordered to ...

– Uruguay's worst air disaster occurs when Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 2553 crashes near

Nuevo Berlín Nuevo Berlín (New Berlin) is a town in the Río Negro Department of western Uruguay. Geography It is located on the east bank of Uruguay River northwest of the junction of Route 24 with Route 20. South of the town flows the stream Arroyo de la ...

, killing all 74 on board. *

October 12 Events Pre-1600 *539 BC – The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia Fall of Babylon, conquer Babylon, ending the Babylonian empire. (Julian calendar) * 633 – Battle of Hatfield Chase: King Edwin of Northumbria is defeated and killed b ...

– Sidi Daoud massacre: 43 are killed at a false roadblock in Algeria. *

October 15 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – Following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England by the Witan; he is never crowned, and concedes power to William the Conqueror two months later. * 121 ...

** Andy Green sets the first supersonic

land speed record The land speed record (LSR) or absolute land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. By a 1964 agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de M ...

for the

ThrustSSC ThrustSSC, Thrust SSC or Thrust SuperSonic Car is a British jet car developed by Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher, Ron Ayers, and Jeremy Bliss. Thrust SSC holds the world land speed record, set on 15 October 1997, and piloted by Andy Gree ...

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). **

launches the

Cassini–Huygens ''Cassini–Huygens'' ( ), commonly called ''Cassini'', was a space research, space-research mission by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to send a space probe to study the planet Saturn and its system, i ...

probe to Saturn. *

October 16 Events Pre-1600 * 456 – Ricimer defeats Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the Western Roman Empire. * 690 – Empress Wu Zetian ascends to the throne of the Tang dynasty and proclaims herself ruler of the Chinese Empire. * ...

– The first color photograph appears on the front page of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. *

October 17 Events Pre-1600 * 690 – Empress Wu Zetian establishes the Zhou Dynasty of China. * 1091 – London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London. * 1346 – The English capture King D ...

– The remains of

are laid to rest with full military honours in a specially built

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

in the city of Santa Clara,

, where he had won the

decisive battle A decisive victory is a military victory in battle that definitively resolves the objective being fought over, ending one stage of the conflict and beginning another stage. Until a decisive victory is achieved, conflict over the competing object ...

of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

39 years before. *

October 22 Events Pre-1600 * 451 – The Chalcedonian Creed, regarding the divine and human nature of Jesus, is adopted by the Council of Chalcedon, an ecumenical council. * 794 – Japanese Emperor Kanmu relocates his empire's capital to H ...

– Danish escaped criminal Steen Christensen robs the Hotel Palace in Helsinki, Finland, killing two police officers while evading capture. *

October 29 Events Pre-1600 * 312 – Constantine the Great enters Rome after his victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, stages a grand '' adventus'' in the city, and is met with popular jubilation. Maxentius' body is fished out of the Tiber ...

–

Iraq disarmament crisis The Iraq disarmament crisis was claimed as one of the primary issues that led to the multinational invasion of Iraq on 20 March 2003. Since the 1980s, Iraq was widely assumed to have been producing and extensively running the programs of b ...

: Iraq says it will begin shooting down

Lockheed U-2 The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed the "''Dragon Lady''", is an American single-engine, high–altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since the 1950s. Designed for all- ...

surveillance planes being used by UNSCOM inspectors.

November

November 2 Events Pre-1600 * 619 – A qaghan of the Western Turkic Khaganate is assassinated in a Chinese palace by Eastern Turkic rivals after the approval of Tang emperor Gaozu. * 1410 – The Peace of Bicêtre suspends hostilities in t ...

– Severe Tropical Storm Linda devastates southern

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and

, killing 3,275 people. *

November 11 Events Pre-1600 * 308 – At Carnuntum, Emperor ''emeritus'' Diocletian confers with Galerius, '' Augustus'' of the East, and Maximianus, the recently returned former ''Augustus'' of the West, in an attempt to end the civil wars of th ...

– Telecom companies

WorldCom MCI, Inc. (formerly WorldCom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second-largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. WorldCom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunicatio ...

and

MCI Communications MCI Communications Corporation (originally Microwave Communications, Inc.) was an American telecommunications company headquartered in Washington, D.C. that was at one point the second-largest long-distance provider in the United States. ...

announce a US$37 billion merger to form

MCI WorldCom MCI, Inc. (formerly WorldCom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second-largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. WorldCom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunicatio ...

, the largest merger in U.S. history. *

November 12 Events Pre-1600 * 954 – The 13-year-old Lothair III is crowned at the Abbey of Saint-Remi as king of the West Frankish Kingdom. * 1028 – Future Byzantine empress Zoe takes the throne as empress consort to Romanos III Argyros. ...

–

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...

is elected the eighth

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

in succession to

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...

, the first time in the world that one woman has succeeded another as elected

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

. *

November 13 Events Pre-1600 * 1002 – English king Æthelred II orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St. Brice's Day massacre. * 1093 – Battle of Alnwick: in an English victory over the Scots, Malcolm III of Scot ...

–

Ramzi Yousef Ramzi Ahmed Yousef (; born 27 April 1968) is a Pakistani convicted terrorist who was one of the main perpetrators and the mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434; he was also a co- ...

is found guilty of masterminding the

1993 World Trade Center bombing The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack carried out by Ramzi Yousef and associates against the United States on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex in Manhat ...

. *

November 17 Events Pre-1600 * 887 – Emperor Charles the Fat is deposed by the Frankish magnates in an assembly at Frankfurt, leading his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia, to declare himself king of the East Frankish Kingdom in late November. * 1183 &nd ...

– In

Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, 62 people are killed by 6 Islamic militants outside the Temple of Hatshepsut. *

November 19 Events Pre-1600 * 461 – Libius Severus is declared emperor of the Western Roman Empire. The real power is in the hands of the ''magister militum'' Ricimer. * 636 – The Rashidun Caliphate defeats the Sasanian Empire at the Battle ...

– In

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, 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 Events Pre-1600 * AD 25 – Luoyang is declared capital of the Eastern Han dynasty by Emperor Guangwu of Han. * 176 – Emperor Marcus Aurelius grants his son Commodus the rank of " Imperator" and makes him Supreme Commander of th ...

–

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) was a joint space mission between NASA and JAXA designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall. The term refers to both the mission itself and the satellite that the mission used to collect data. ...

is launched, the start of the satellite component of the

Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) is an NASA climatological experiment from Earth orbit. The CERES are scientific satellite instruments, part of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS), designed to measure solar-reflected and Eart ...

December

December 1 Events Pre-1600 * 800 – A council is convened in the Vatican, at which Charlemagne is to judge the accusations against Pope Leo III. * 1420 – Henry V of England enters Paris alongside his father-in-law King Charles VI of France. * ...

– In the Indian state of

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

, Ranvir Sena attacks the CPI(ML) Party Unity stronghold Lakshmanpur-Bathe, killing 63 lower caste people. *

December 3 Events Pre-1600 * 915 – Pope John X crowns Berengar I of Italy as Holy Roman Emperor (probable date). 1601–1900 * 1775 – American Revolution: becomes the first vessel to fly the Continental Union Flag (precursor to the " St ...

– In

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada, representatives from 121 countries sign a

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

prohibiting the manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel

land mine A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...

s. However, the United States, the People's Republic of China, Russia, South Korea and 32 other nations do not sign and/or ratify the treaty. *

December 10 Events Pre-1600 *1317 – The Nyköping Banquet: King Birger of Sweden treacherously seizes his two brothers, dukes Valdemar and Erik, who are subsequently starved to death in the dungeon of Nyköping Castle. * 1508 – The Leag ...

– The capital of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

is moved from

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

. *

December 11 Events Pre-1600 * 220 – Emperor Xian of Han is forced to abdicate the throne by Cao Cao's son Cao Pi, ending the Han dynasty. * 361 – Julian enters Constantinople as sole Roman Emperor. * 861 – Assassination of the Abba ...

– The

Kyoto Protocol The was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is oc ...

is adopted by a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

. *

December 15 Events Pre-1600 * 533 – Vandalic War: Byzantine Empire, Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum. * 687 – Pope Sergius I is elected as a compromise between antipopes P ...

– Microsoft releases Windows 98 Beta 3 *

December 16 Events Pre-1600 * 714 – Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the Merovingian palace, dies at Jupille (modern Belgium). He is succeeded by his infant grandson Theudoald, while his widow Plectrude holds actual power in the Frankish Kingdom. * ...

– In

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, over 700 children suffer epileptic attacks after watching an episode of the

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

anime. *

December 19 Events Pre-1600 * 1154 – Henry II of England is crowned at Westminster Abbey. * 1187 – Pope Clement III is elected. * 1490 – Anne, Duchess of Brittany, is married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor by proxy. * 1562 &ndas ...

** Janet Jagan (widow of

Cheddi Jagan Cheddi Berret Jagan ( ; 22 March 1918 – 6 March 1997) was a Guyanese politician and dentist who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 19 ...

) takes office in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. **

SilkAir Flight 185 SilkAir Flight 185 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by a Boeing 737-300 from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia to Changi Airport in Singapore that crashed into the Musi River near Palembang, S ...

crashes into the Musi River, near Palembang in Indonesia, killing 104. *

December 21 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69 – The Roman Senate declares Vespasian Roman emperor, emperor of Rome, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors. *1124 – Pope Honorius II is consecrated, having been elected after the controversial dethroning ...

–

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

beats

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

6–0 in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup, Confederations Cup 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup Final, final. * December 24 – 50–100 villagers are killed in the Sid El-Antri massacre in Algeria. * December 27 – Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary leader Billy Wright (loyalist), Billy Wright is assassinated in

, inside Long Kesh prison. * December 29 – Hong Kong begins to kill all the chickens within its territory (1.25 million) to stop the spread of a potentially deadly Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 strain. * December 30 – Wilaya of Relizane massacres of December 30, 1997: In the worst incident in Algeria's insurgency, 400 people from four villages in the Relizane Province, ''wilaya'' of Relizane are killed.

Births and deaths

Nobel Prizes

* Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Paul D. Boyer, John E. Walker, Jens C. Skou * Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Economics – Bank of Sweden – Robert C. Merton, Myron Scholes * Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Dario Fo * Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – ICBL, International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Jody Williams * Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Steven Chu, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, William D. Phillips * Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Medicine – Stanley B. Prusiner

References

External links

1997 Year in Review
– CNN {{DEFAULTSORT:1997 1997,