At A Glance

31 January 1997 at a glance

Day of the week
31 January 1997 was a Friday.
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 31 January is Aquarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 January 1997 fell in the Year of the Rat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 January 1997 was Last Quarter.

On this day: 31 January

  • 1978 The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) goes on public display after being returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.
  • 1988 Doug Williams becomes the first African American quarterback to play in a Super Bowl and leads the Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XXII.
  • 2003 The Waterfall rail accident occurs near Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia.
  • 2007 Emergency officials in Boston mistakenly identify battery-powered LED placards depicting characters from Aqua Teen Hunger Force as Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), causing a panic.
  • 2019 Abdullah of Pahang is sworn in as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.

Famous people born on January 31

  • Julián Alvarez, Argentine footballer (born 2000)
  • Justin Timberlake, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor (born 1981)
  • Minnie Driver, English singer-songwriter and actress (born 1970)
  • Jackie Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster (1919–1972)

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

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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)

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