At A Glance

31 December 1997 at a glance

Day of the week
31 December 1997 was a Wednesday.
Irish Chart Song in 1997
The Irish chart song for 1997 was “Barbie Girl” by Aqua.
Top Film of 1997
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1997 was Titanic.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 December is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 December 1997 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 December 1997 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 31 December

  • 1994 This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC−11:00 to UTC+13:00 and UTC−10:00 to UTC+14:00, respectively.
  • 1995 The final comic of Calvin and Hobbes is published.
  • 1998 The European Exchange Rate Mechanism freezes the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone, and establishes the value of the euro currency.
  • 1999 The first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, resigns from office, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President and successor.
  • 1999 The U.S. government hands control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties.

Famous people born on 31 December

  • Val Kilmer, American actor (1959–2025)
  • Sophia Laforteza, Filipino-American singer (born 2002)
  • Alex Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1941)
  • Charles Edward Stuart, Scottish claimant to the throne of England (1720–1788)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Events of 1997 in Ireland

A selection from Wikipedia's '1997 in Ireland'. Not a complete list.

  • 8 January – Russia sought to widen its ban on the importation of Irish beef due to bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
  • 27 February – A new law providing for divorce came into effect.
  • 17 March – The new national independent radio station, Radio Ireland, went on the air.
More events of 1997 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in Ireland in 1997

Taoiseach

Bertie Ahern

Petrol (per litre)

£1.75/gal

Loaf of Bread

£0.80

Average House

£68,000

Weekly Wage

£130

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Famous Faces Born in the 1990s

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

Saoirse Ronan12 April 1994ActressView their day →Ian Machado Garry17 November 1997Mixed martial arts fighterView their day →Paul Mescal2 February 1996ActorView their day →Barry Keoghan18 October 1992ActorView their day →Eve Hewson7 July 1991ActressView their day →Jack Gleeson20 May 1992ActorView their day →Mark English18 March 1993Middle-distance runnerView their day →Grian Chatten19 July 1995SingerView their day →

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

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