WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO JUNE 1997
Find out what all happened January to June 1997

The Thalit massacre begins in Algeria; all but 1 of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas. (3. April 1997)

Omaria massacre in Algeria: 42 villagers are killed. (23. April 1997)

Haouch Khemisti massacre in Algeria – 93 villagers killed. (22. April 1997)

The Soufrière Hills volcano in Montserrat erupts resulting in the death of 19 people. (25. June 1997)

The tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, Sky Tower in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, opens after two-and-a-half years of construction. (3. March 1997)

The Bank of England is given independence from political control, the most significant change in the bank's 300-year history. (6. May 1997)

A jury sentences Timothy McVeigh to death for his part in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. (13. June 1997)

The Comet Hale-Bopp has its closest approach to Earth. (22. March 1997)

The United Kingdom transfers sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. (30. June 1997)

An unmanned Progress spacecraft collides with the Russian space station Mir. (25. June 1997)

The so-called Big Three banks in Switzerland announce the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families. (5. February 1997)

A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koromah. (25. May 1997)

India's Missionaries of Charity chooses Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as its leader. (13. March 1997)

The Dairat Labguer massacre in Algeria; 50 people die. (16. June 1997)

The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 enters into force, outlawing the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons by its signatories. (29. April 1997)

Comet Hale-Bopp is seen passing over perihelion. (1. April 1997)

Tara Lipinski, age 14 years and 10 months, becomes the youngest champion women's World Figure Skating Champion. (22. March 1997)

Yi Han-yong, North Korean defector was murdered by unidentified assailants in Bundang, South Korea. (25. February 1997)

Uphaar cinema fire, in New Delhi, India, killed 59 people, and over 100 people injured. (13. June 1997)

En route to Lebanon, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel killing 73. (4. February 1997)