• Great Britain - July 1, 1997, the British government returned sovereignty of Hong Kong to China.
• Paris - August 1997, Princess Diana died of injuries suffered in an automobile accident.
• Oklahoma City - Timothy McVeigh was found guilty of the terrorist bombing of the Murrah Federal Building , and the killing of 168 people.
• Masters Golf - a 21-year-old Tiger Woods became the first African-Asian-American to win one of Golf's Major Titles.
• August 31 - Diana, Princess of Wales, was pronounced dead at 3:00 am after a car accident in the Pont de l'Alma Tunnel in Paris.
• October 24 - The Toyota unveiled the first hybrid vehicle in Japan, the Toyota Prius. It will be in U.S. showrooms July 2000.
Notable Deaths -
John Akii-Bua, 1949-1997, in the hospital on an undisclosed illness. He was an African track and field (world record 400 meter hurdles) athlete, who became the first Olympic champion from Uganda.
Diana, Princess of Wales, (Diana Frances Spencer) 1961-1997, a member of the British royal family as the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, was pronounced dead after a car accident in the Pont de l'Alma Tunnel in Paris.
Richard "Red" Skelton, 1913-1997, an American entertainer. He died on September 17, 1997, at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California.
