UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
31 December 1997 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 31 December 1997 was a Wednesday.
- Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
- The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Candle in the Wind 1997 / Something About the Way You Look Tonight” by Elton John.
- 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 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 December 31
- 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)
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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
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Famous Faces Born in the 1990s
Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.
Zendaya1 September 1996Actress & singerView their day →Sydney Sweeney12 September 1997ActressView their day →Charlie Kirk14 October 1993Political activistView their day →Shailene Woodley15 November 1991ActressView their day →Miley Cyrus23 November 1992Singer & actressView their day →Enes Kanter Freedom20 May 1992Basketball playerView their day →Kate Upton10 June 1992Model & actressView their day →Phoebe Bridgers17 August 1994MusicianView their day →Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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