Date in year · 1997 · The 1990s

January 19, 1997

On January 19, 1997, yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city. 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

0

Deaths

1

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 January 19, 1997

  1. 1997 Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.

    President of Palestine from 1989 to 2004

    Yasser Arafat, also popularly known by his kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, President of Palestine from 1989 to 2004 and President of the Palestinian Authority (PNA) from 1994 to 2004. Ideologically an Arab nationalist and a socialist, Arafat was a founding member of the Fatah political party, which he led from 1959 until 2004.

Farewells

Died on January 19, 1997

James Dickey American poet and novelist (1923–1997)

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

Step through

Nearby

Keep going

More to explore