WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO AUGUST 1997
Find out what all happened January to August 1997

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

Troops of Laurent Kabila march into Kinshasa. Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo. (17. May 1997)

In Denver, Colorado, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was executed four years later. (2. June 1997)

The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland. (6. July 1997)

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

A China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 crashes on approach into Bao'an International Airport, killing 35 people. (8. May 1997)

At least 98 villagers are killed by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria GIA in the Rais massacre, Algeria. (29. August 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)

The Sierra Gorda Biosphere, the most ecologically diverse region in Mexico, is established as a result of grassroots efforts. (19. May 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)

A 7.3 Mw earthquake strikes Iran's Khorasan Province, killing 1,567, injuring over 2,300, leaving 50,000 homeless, and damaging or destroying over 15,000 homes. (10. May 1997)

The United States government acknowledges the existence of the "Secret War" in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other "Secret War" veterans. (15. May 1997)

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

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

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

Holyfield–Tyson II – Mike Tyson is disqualified in the 3rd round for biting a piece off Evander Holyfield's ear. (28. June 1997)

Egon Krenz, the former East German leader, is convicted of a shoot-to-kill policy at the Berlin Wall. (25. August 1997)

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

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