At A Glance

19 October 1997 at a glance

Day of the week
19 October 1997 was a Sunday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Spice Up Your Life” by Spice Girls.
Top Film of 1997
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1997 was Titanic.
Star sign
The star sign for 19 October is Libra.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 19 October 1997 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for October is Opal.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 19 October 1997 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 19 October

  • 1989 The convictions of the Guildford Four are quashed by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, after they had spent 15 years in prison.
  • 2001 SIEV X, an Indonesian fishing boat en route to Christmas Island, carrying over 400 migrants, sinks in international waters with the loss of 353 people.
  • 2003 Mother Teresa is beatified by Pope John Paul II.
  • 2005 Saddam Hussein goes on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity.
  • 2005 Hurricane Wilma becomes the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record with a minimum pressure of 882 mb.

Famous people born on 19 October

  • Rebecca Ferguson, Swedish actress (born 1983)
  • Lil Durk, American rapper (born 1992)
  • Jon Favreau, American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1966)
  • John Lithgow, American actor (born 1945)

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 →