Year 1997: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a collection of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1997. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, historic firsts, entertainment trivia, and much more.

Take a journey through history in just minutes.

1. In 1997, Bill Clinton was the 42nd president of the United States, and Al Gore was the nation’s vice president.
2. The U.S. unemployment was 5.4%, inflation averaged 2.5%, and a new home cost $176,000.
3. Median household income in the United States was $37,000, and the average retail price for a gallon of gas was $1.22.
4. Consumer products launched in 1997 included DVD players, digital cameras, flavored vodka, the McDonald’s McChicken and McDouble, Oreo O’s breakfast cereal, the PalmPilot, and Purell hand sanitizer.
5. On January 18, Boerge Ousland of Norway completed the first solo crossing of Antarctica. APNews.com reveals that Boerge “walked and skied alone across interminable ice fields, towing a 400-pound sled. The wind whipped at his back and then slapped him in the face. The temperatures plunged to minus 55. The only human voices he heard came during infrequent two-way radio conversations. That’s the way it was for 1,675 miles and 64 days.”
6. On January 22, Madeleine Albright became the first woman to serve as the U.S. Secretary of State.
7. On January 22, the space shuttle Atlantis safely returned to Earth.
8. Lottie Williams of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was the first person to be struck by re-entering space debris. On January 22, 1997, Williams was walking through a park when she saw what looked like a shooting star. A little while later, she felt a tap on her shoulder that turned out to be a small piece of burned mesh. Further analysis revealed that the mesh was part of a returning Delta II rocket.
9. On February 28, new FDA rules went into effect for tobacco purchases. According to Corporate.FindLaw.com, “new FDA rules prohibited retailers from selling cigarettes, loose cigarette tobacco, and smokeless tobacco to anyone under age 18, and required retailers to verify by means of photo identification the age of anyone under age 27 who wishes to purchase these products.”
10. On March 11, Queen Elizabeth II knighted Beatle Paul McCartney.
11. At the 69th Academy Awards on March 24, which honored the best films of 1996, The English Patient won an Oscar for Best Picture, and Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) won an Oscar for Best Director. Geoffrey Rush (Shine) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Frances McDormand (Fargo) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
12. On April 8, Microsoft released the beta version of Internet Explorer 4.
13. On July 1, Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule after ceding the island to the British in 1841. History.com explains that “At midnight on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong reverted back to Chinese rule in a ceremony attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. A few thousand Hong Kongers protested the turnover, which was otherwise celebratory and peaceful.”
14. On July 17, Woolworths closed its remaining stores after more than 100 years in retail. In the late 1950s, the five-and-dime giant “was the largest retailer in the world, with over 5,000 shops across the globe.”
15. On July 21, the fully restored USS Constitution (aka “Old Ironsides”) celebrated her 200th birthday and set sail for the first time in 116 years.
16. On August 4, 185,000 UPS Teamsters went on strike for 16 days. NewPol.org points out that “The UPS workers’ sixteen-day strike was seen by the public as a fight between ordinary working people and a gigantic multinational, multibillion-dollar company greedily demanding concessions from its workers.”
17. On August 14, Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for masterminding and perpetuating the Oklahoma City bombing that took place on April 19, 1995. The bombing killed 168 people and injured another 684 and destroyed part of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. It remains the “deadliest act” of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
18. On August 31, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash in Paris. CBSNews.com tells us that “Diana was traveling through Paris in a limo with boyfriend Dodi Fayed, the son of an Egyptian millionaire. They were being chased by photographers and crashed in a tunnel under the Place de l’Alma. Fayed and their driver were killed at the scene. The princess was rushed to a local hospital and died after two hours of emergency surgery. She was 36.”
19. On September 5, Mother Teresa died in Calcutta at the age of 87.
20. On September 6, an estimated 2.5 billion people from around the world watched Princess Diana’s funeral on television. ABC News reports that at least 2,000 attended the service in person, and thousands waited outside Westminster Abbey “to say goodbye to the woman known as the people’s princess. There were many famous faces in the crowd, including Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Elton John.”
21. On September 15, Google.com was registered as a domain name.
22. On September 15, Fen-Phen, the weight loss drug, was pulled from the market because of problems relating to heart disease and pulmonary hypertension.
23. On October 27, a redesigned $50 bill to deter counterfeiters was introduced. AcademicKids.com explains that the new design included “an enlarged and off-center portrait, an enlarged and updated view of the U.S. Capitol on the back, a security thread which glows yellow under ultraviolet light, a numeric ‘50’ which shifts color from black to green when tilted, and a watermark. For those with vision limitations, it includes a large dark ‘50’ on a light background on the reverse of the note.”
24. On November 3, California Proposition 209 ended all forms of affirmative action. The law stated that “The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.”
25. On December 1, Westinghouse Electric Corporation changed its name to CBS and announced that it would move its headquarters from Pittsburgh to New York.
26. James Cameron’s Titanic—released on December 19, 1997—was the second-highest-grossing film of all time. It won 11 Oscars in 1998 and was also the most popular film in 1997-98.
27. Alaska had an “insanely” warm December and saw more ground ice melting than usual.
28. In 1997, the statin drug Lipitor became available to treat people with high cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
29. Luxembourg was the wealthiest country in the world, with an average per capita income of $41,210. Switzerland and Japan were in second and third place, respectively.
30. Because of torrential rains throughout 1997, many rivers in Europe flooded, causing mass destruction to towns and villages. Some of the countries affected were Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
31. In 1997, the most popular web browsers were Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer.
32. There were only about 100,000 websites. The most-visited ones were AOL, Yahoo!, Netscape, Microsoft, Geocities, Excite, Infoseek, Lycos, MSN, Digital, Webcrawler, Disney, and CompuServe.
33. Until 1997, most people used dial-up Internet connections “with mighty speeds ranging from 28.8 Kbps to 33.6 Kbps.” Back then, you had to disconnect from the Internet so that your mom, dad, cat, mother-in-law, or Uncle Fred could make a phone call.
34. Search engines in 1997 included Yahoo!, WebCrawler, AltaVista, Lycos, Excite, Infoseek, Inktomi, and Ask Jeeves.
35. The cost of a new PC from Compaq and Hewlett-Packard dropped below $1,000 for the first time.
36. Actor Christopher Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down after falling from his horse during a riding competition.
37. The Simpsons became the longest-running animated television series, and the TV sitcom Seinfeld was in its last season.
38. Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer to ever win the Masters History of Golf.
39. Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Richie Ashburn and Phillies’ slugger Mike Schmidt were both inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame.
40. Here are some additional sports facts from 1997: The Green Bay Packers were the Super Bowl champs, the Florida Marlins won the World Series, and the Detroit Red Wings clinched the Stanley Cup.
41. In 1997 as well, the words "air rage," "Amber Alert," "cube farm," "deep state," "dot-commer," "dumb phone," "emoji," "freegan," "judgy," "m-commerce," "money tree," "vanity card," "weblog," and "wingsuit" all appeared in print for the first time.
42. Apples: $0.99 per pound
43. Bananas: $0.49 per pound
44. Clementines: $5.99 for five pounds
45. Coca-Cola: Six cans for $0.99
46. Eggs: $1.05 per dozen
47. Ground chuck: $1.82 per pound
48. Heinz Ketchup: $0.89 for a 14-ounce bottle
49. Hot dogs: $1.39 for a one-pound package
50. Milk: $1.90 per gallon
51. Onions: $0.69 for three pounds
52. Oranges: Two dozen for $1.99
53. Peaches: $0.79 per pound
54. Pork chops: $2.99 per pound
55. Sirloin steak: $2.99 per pound
56. Sliced bacon: $1.29 per pound
57. Sugar: $0.99 for a five-pound bag
58. Tomatoes: $1.31 per pound
59. Tuna: $0.50 per can
60. White bread: $1.17 per loaf

References:

1. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-history-1996.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_in_the_United_States
3. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1997
4. https://www.computerhope.com/history/1997.htm
5. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/on-this-day-august-31-1997-princess-dianas-death-stuns-the-world/
6. https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/year/1997

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor