At A Glance

23 March 1997 at a glance

Day of the week
23 March 1997 was a Sunday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Mama / Who Do You Think You Are” by Spice Girls.
Top Film of 1997
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1997 was Titanic.
Star sign
The star sign for 23 March is Aries.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 23 March 1997 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for March is Aquamarine.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 23 March 1997 was Full Moon.

On this day: 23 March

  • 1988 Angolan and Cuban forces defeat South Africa in the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.
  • 1991 The Revolutionary United Front, with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia, invades Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow Joseph Saidu Momoh, sparking the 11-year Sierra Leone Civil War.
  • 1996 Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.
  • 2001 The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.
  • 2003 Battle of Nasiriyah, first major conflict during the invasion of Iraq.

Famous people born on 23 March

  • G. D. Naidu, Indian engineer and businessman (1893–1974)
  • Keri Russell, American actress (born 1976)
  • Michelle Monaghan, American actress (born 1976)
  • Perez Hilton, American blogger (born 1978)

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

John Major

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 →