WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO APRIL 1997
Find out what all happened January to April 1997

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

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

The Japanese embassy hostage crisis ends in Lima, Peru. (22. April 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)

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)

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

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

An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 3,000 deaths. (28. February 1997)

In Roslin, Scotland, scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly has been successfully cloned. (22. February 1997)

Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan is appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations. (1. January 1997)

Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament. (13. April 1997)

Thirty-nine bodies are found in the Heaven's Gate cult suicides. (26. March 1997)

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

The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined. (21. January 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)

After at first contesting the results, Serbian President Slobodan Milošević recognizes opposition victories in the November 1996 elections. (4. February 1997)

China announces it will spend US$27.7 billion to fight erosion and pollution in the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys. (3. January 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)

The Phoenix lights are seen over Phoenix, Arizona by hundreds of people, and by millions on television. (13. March 1997)

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