At A Glance

2 January 1997 at a glance

Day of the week
2 January 1997 was a Thursday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Un-Break My Heart” by Toni Braxton.
Top Film of 1997
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1997 was Titanic.
Bestselling Novel of 1997
“The Partner” by John Grisham was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1997.
Top-Rated TV Show
“Seinfeld” (NBC) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1997–98 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 2 January is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 2 January 1997 fell in the Year of the Rat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 2 January 1997 was Last Quarter.

On this day: 2 January

  • 1959 Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.
  • 1963 Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory, at the Battle of Ap Bac.
  • 1967 Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, is sworn in as Governor of California.
  • 1991 Sharon Pratt Dixon becomes the first African American woman mayor of a major city and first woman Mayor of the District of Columbia.
  • 2004 Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.

Famous people born on January 2

  • Jim Bakker, American televangelist (1940–2026)
  • Kemi Badenoch, English politician (born 1980)
  • Dax Shepard, American actor (born 1975)
  • Kate Bosworth, American actress (born 1983)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Events of 1997 in the United States

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

  • February 28 – North Hollywood shootout: Two heavily armed bank robbers conflict with officers from the Los Angeles Police Department in a mass shootout.
  • March 21 – Liar Liar is released in theaters nationwide, later going on to rank as the 7th highest grossing film of the year.
  • March 24 – The 69th Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with Anthony Minghella's The English Patient winning nine awards out of 12 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. The telecast garners nearly 40.1 million viewers.

Life in the US in 1997

President

Bill Clinton

Gas (per gallon)

$1.23

Loaf of Bread

$1.00

Average House

$146,000

Weekly Wage

$507

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 →