Date in year · 1997 · The 1990s

December 27, 1997

On December 27, 1997, protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The year's #1 song was "Candle in the Wind 1997" / "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" by Elton John. Asa Butterfield, Álex Palou, Claire Wineland would arrive in the same year.

Events

1

Births

4

Deaths

2

Year

1997

1990s

Around 1997

The year in brief

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.

Read the full year of 1997 →

What happened

On December 27, 1997

  1. 1997 Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.

    Northern Irish loyalist (1960–1997)

    William Stephen Wright, known as King Rat, was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary leader who founded the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) during The Troubles. Wright had joined the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in his home town of Portadown around 1975. After spending several years in prison, he became a Protestant fundamentalist preacher.

Arrivals

Born on December 27, 1997

Mads Juel Andersen 1997– Danish footballer (born 1997)
Vachirawit Chivaaree 1997– Thai actor, singer and entrepreneur (born 1997)
Ana Konjuh 1997– Croatian tennis player (born 1997)
Jang Gyu-ri 1997– South Korean actress (born 1997)

Farewells

Died on December 27, 1997

Brendan Gill American journalist (1914–1997)
Billy Wright Northern Irish loyalist (1960–1997)

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1997

The class of 1997

Others born in 1997

Asa Butterfield 1997– English actor
Álex Palou 1997– Spanish racing driver
Claire Wineland 1997– American activist and author (died 2018)
Mateo Cassierra 1997– Colombian footballer
Kyle Walker-Peters 1997– English footballer
D. J. Moore 1997– American football player

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