- March 6
- Picasso's Tête de Femme painting is stolen from a London gallery (recovered a week later). [18]
- In Sri Lanka, Tamil Tigers overrun a military base and kill more than 200. [18]
- March 7
- Five sue Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, because his smoking has violated the country's constitution guaranteeing a wholesome life. [1]
- March 10
- The main office of Fuji TV moves from Kawadacho, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan to Odaiba, Minato. [18]
- March 11
- Paul McCartney is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his "services to music." [1] [129]
- An explosion at a nuclear waste reprocessing plant in Japan exposes 35 workers to low-level radioactive contamination, in the worst nuclear accident in Japan's history. [18]
- March 13
- India's Missionaries of Charity chooses Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as its leader. The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China creates a new Chongqing Municipality. It was formerly part of Sichuan. [18]
- March 14
- Iranian military plane crashes, killing 80. [1]
- March 16
- On Bougainville Island, soldiers of commander Jerry Singirok arrest Tim Spicer and his mercenaries of the Sandline International. [18]
- March 18
- The tail of a Russian An-24 charter plane breaks off while en-route to Turkey, causing the plane to crash, killing all 50 on board, and resulting in the grounding of all An-24s. [1] [18]
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- March 20
- Liggett admits cigarettes are addictive. [1]
- March 21
- Mercenaries of Sandline International withdraw from Papua New Guinea. [18]
- In Zaire, Etienne Tshiksekedi is appointed new prime minister; he ejects supporters of Mobutu Sese Seko from his cabinet. [18]
- March 22
- The comet Hale-Bopp makes its closest approach to Earth. [1] [18]
- March 23
- 17th Golden Raspberry Awards: Striptease wins. [1]
- March 24
- Australian parliament overturns world's first and only euthanasia law. [1]
- March 26
- In San Diego, California, 39 Heaven's Gate cultists commit mass suicide at their compound. [18] (March 27 [1])
- The survey of a claimed gold site of Bre-X Minerals in Indonesia reveals it is worthless; Bre-X complains and accuses Internet rumours. [18]
- Julius Chan resigns as prime minister of Papua New Guinea. [18]
- April 1
- Cartoonists of popularly syndicated comic strips swap cartoons for the day. [18]
- The German steel companies Krupp and Thyssen merge. [37]
- April 2
- The mayor of New York City, the governor of New York state, and Michael Eisner unveil the restored New Amsterdam theater in New York City. [6]
- April 3
- The Thalit massacre in Algeria: All but one of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas. [18]
- April 8
- Microsoft Corp releases Internet Explorer 4.0. [1]
- The Stickney-Eliasberg pedigree US 1804 Draped Bust silver dollar sells for US$1.815 million, a record for a single coin at auction. A US 1885 Trade dollar, Proof, finest of 5 known, sells for $907,500 to Jay Parrino. [352.24] [486.64] [525.79]
- April 11
- In Chambrey, France, a meteorite penetrates the roof of a car and starts a fire. [521]
- Fire damages the Turin Cathedral in Italy. [18]
- In Southern Xinjiang, China, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurs. At least 9 people killed, 89 injured, 100,000 homeless, thousands of buildings destroyed. [53]
- April 14
- Fire breaks out in a pilgrim camp on the Plain of Mena, 7 miles from Mecca; 343 die. [18]
- April 15
- America OnLine begins service in Japan. [1]
- April 17
- John Bell, 115, recieves new heart pacemaker. [1]
- April 18
- The Red River of the North breaks through dikes and floods Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota, causing US$2 billion in damage. [18]
- April 21
- A Pegasus rocket carries the remains of 24 people, including Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, into Earth orbit, in the first space burial. [1] [18]
- April 22
- Haouch Khemisti massacre in Algeria; 93 villagers killed. [18]
- A 126-day hostage crisis at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Lima, Peru ends after government commandos storm and capture the building, rescuing 71 hostages. One hostage dies of a heart attack, two soldiers are killed from rebel fire, and all 14 Tupac Amaru rebels are slain. [18] [824.181]
- France supports the new transitional government in Zaire, withdrawing its support of Mobutu Sese Seko. [18]
- April 23
- Omaria massacre in Algeria; 42 villagers killed. [18]
- April 27
- Andrew Cunanan murders Jeffrey Trail, beginning a murder spree that will last until July and end with the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace. [18]
- April 30
- Big Ben tower clock in London, England, stops at 12:11 PM for 54 minutes. [1]
- Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov wounded in assassination attempt. [1]
- May 1
- Bebe the dolphin, also known as Flipper, dies at age 40. [1]
- Tasmania becomes the last state in Australia to decriminalize homosexuality. [18]
- The United Kingdom's Labour Party ends 18 years of Conservative rule. [18]
- HM Prison Pentridge in Melbourne, Australia, is officially closed. [18]
- May 2
- Mercury Mail announces its one millionth internet subscriber. [1]
- Tony Blair is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. [18] (May 1 [1])
- May 3
- Garry Kasparov begins chess match with IBM supercomputer Deep Blue. [1]
- Katrina and the Waves win Eurovision 1997 for the United Kingdom with "Love Shine a Light", the most successful Eurovision entry ever. [18]
- May 6
- Michael Jackson and Bee Gees inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [1]
- May 7
- Intel releases the Pentium II processor. It features a new 66 MHz bus interface called Slot 1, 200 MHz 32 kB Level 1 cache, MMX instructions, 512 kB Level 2 external cache. CPU speeds available are 233, 266, and 300 MHz. The processor incorporates 7.5 million transistors using 0.35 micron process technology. Prices range from US$636 to $1981. Code-name during development was Klamath. [4]
- May 8
- German President, Roman Herzog, receives the Karlspreiz (Charlemagne prize) in Aachen, Germany for his contributions to a "Citizens Europe". [37]
- May 9
- First US ambassador since Saigon fell arrives in Vietnam. [1]
- May 10
- In Northern Iran, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurs. At least 1,570 people killed, 2,300 injured, 50,000 homeless, 16,000 houses destroyed or damaged. [18] [53]
- May 11
- IBM's "Deep Blue" chess computer defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the six-game series, the first time a computer beat a chess World Champion in a match. [18] [129]
- May 12
- Fourteen North Koreans defect to South Korea. [1]
- Russia and Chechnya sign peace deal after 400 years of conflict. [1] [18]
- Susie Maroney, 22, of Australia, is first to swim from Cuba to Florida. [1]
- May 14
- The Star Alliance is formed between Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, Thai Airways International and United Airlines. [18]
- May 15
- STS 84 (Atlantis 19), launches, 6th Shuttle-Mir Mission. [1]
- May 16
- Brook Mehealani Lee, 26, of US crowned 46th Miss Universe. [1]
- U.S. President Bill Clinton issues a formal apology to the surviving victims of the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male and their families, 25 years after the 40-year "study" was exposed by reporter Jean Heller. [18]
- May 17
- Troops of Laurent Kabila march into Kinshasa. [18]
- May 20
- Cosmos Zenit-2 launch (Russia), failed. [1]
- Thor-2A Delta 2 launch (Norway/USA), successful. [1]
- May 22
- In India, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurs. At least 38 people killed, more than 1,000 injured, thousands homeless and extensive damage. [53]
- Kelly Flinn, the U.S. Air Force's first female bomber pilot certified for combat, accepts a general discharge in order to avoid a court martial. [18]
- May 24
- Telstar-5 Proton launch, successful. [1]
- May 25
- A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koromah. [18]
- May 27
- First all female (20 British women) team reaches North Pole. [1]
- Russian President Boris Yeltsin signs a historic treaty with NATO. [1]
- The second-deadliest tornado of the 1990s hits in Jarrell, Texas, killing 27 people. [18] (May 28 [1])
- May 28
- Linda Finch completes an around-the-world flight first attempted by Amelia Earhart. [1]
- May 29
- Spanish scientists announce new human species in 780,000-year-old fossil. [1]
- May 31
- Official opening of the Confederation Bridge, between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, Canada. The 13 kilometre bridge is the world's longest bridge spanning ice covered waters. [18]
- June 1
- Hugo Banzer wins the Presidential elections in Bolivia. [18]
- June 5
- Kim Hyun Chul, son of Kim Young Sam, president of South Korea, is charged with bribery and corruption related to the awarding of government contracts. [18]
- German chancellor, Helmut Kohl, receives the George C. Marshall Foundation award on the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan. [37]
- June 9
- The British lease on New Territories in Hong Kong expires. [1]
- June 10
- Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot orders the killing of his defense chief, Son Sen, and 11 of Sen's family members, before Pol Pot flees his northern stronghold. [18]
- June 11
- The British House of Commons votes for a total ban on handguns. [18]
- June 12
- The Globe Theater is reopened in London by Queen Elizabeth II. [5]
- June 16
- Dairat Labguer massacre in Algeria; some 50 people killed. [18]
- June 19
- In England, the fast-food chain McDonald's wins a partial victory in its libel trial against environmental campaigners Helen Steel and Dave Morris. The court case over seven years is the lonest trial in England's legal history, including 313 days in court, and 180 witnesses called. In the 1000-page verdict, the judge accepts that McDonald's exploits children, cruelly treats animals, management can be autocratic and unfair, and that a diet of McDonald's food contributes to heart disease. Steel and Morris are ordered to pay US$95,490 damages for other unsubstantiated claims (later reduced to US$61,300, but never collected). [18] [287.389]
- June 21
- At over 500 McDonald's locations in the United Kingdom and 30 in North America, picketers and protesters pass out leaflets about the controversies of McDonald's food and practices. [287.391]
- June 25
- An unmanned Progress spacecraft collides with the Russian Space station, Mir. [18]
- June 26
- Bertie Ahern is appointed as the 10th Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland and Mary Harney is appointed as the 16th, and first female, Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister), after their parties, Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats respectively, won the 1997 General Election. [18]
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