1997

1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1997th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 997th year of the 2nd millennium, the 97th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year of the 1990s decade.

From left, clockwise: the movie set of Titanic , the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of the most observed comets of the 20th century ; Golden Bauhinia Square , where sovereignty of Hong Kong is handed over from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China ; the Central European flood kills 114 people in the Czech Republic , Poland , and Germany ; Korean Air Flight 801 crashes during heavy rain on Guam , killing 229; Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner land on Mars ; flowers left outside Kensington Palace following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales , in a car crash in Paris .