At A Glance

17 June 1997 at a glance

Day of the week
17 June 1997 was a Tuesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “MMMBop” by Hanson.
Top Film of 1997
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1997 was Titanic.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 June is Gemini.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 June 1997 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for June is Pearl.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 June 1997 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 17 June

  • 1972 Watergate scandal: Five White House operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee during an attempt by members of the administration of President Richard M. Nixon to illegally wiretap the political opposition as part of a broader campaign to subvert the democratic process.
  • 1985 Space Shuttle program: STS-51-G mission: Space Shuttle Discovery launches carrying Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first Arab and first Muslim in space, as a payload specialist.
  • 1991 Apartheid: The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.
  • 1992 A "joint understanding" agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. president George Bush and Russian president Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II).
  • 2021 Juneteenth National Independence Day is signed into law by President Joe Biden, to become the first federal holiday established since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

Famous people born on 17 June

  • Elena Rybakina, Russian-born Kazakhstani tennis player (born 1999)
  • Will Forte, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (born 1970)
  • Thomas Haden Church, American actor (born 1960)
  • Odessa A'zion, American actress (born 2000)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1997 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1997 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 30 March – Channel 5, Britain's fifth terrestrial television channel and its first new one since the launch of Channel 4 in November 1982, is launched.
  • 31 March – BBC preschool children's television series Teletubbies first airs.
  • 26 June – Publication of J. K. Rowling's first Harry Potter fantasy novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in London by Bloomsbury Publishing, in an edition of 500 copies.

Life in 1997

Prime Minister

Tony Blair

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

£1.60

Loaf of Bread

67p

Average House

£65,798

Weekly Wage

£385.00

Or

Browse by Year

Famous Faces Born in the 1990s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →