Timeline March 1997

Events in March 1997 7

• 1904 – 1997 Willem de Kooning Abstract Expressionism · Netherlands / USA Willem de Kooning (April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American painter and a leading figure of Abstract Expressionism. His Woman series provoked fierce debate about the relationship between abstraction and figuration.
• 1972 – 1997 Notorious B.I.G. (1972-1997) Died 9 March 1997, aged 24 Christopher Wallace, known as the Notorious B.I.G., was a rapper whose album Ready to Die established him as one of hip hop's most influential artists. He was shot and killed in Los Angeles amid the East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry, six months after the murder of Tupac Shakur. His case remains officially unsolved.
• 1997 Iditarod 1997 Winner: Martin Buser — 9 days 8h Martin Buser won his third Iditarod title in 1997.
• 1997 Taylor Hawkins joins Foo Fighters Drummer A 25-year partnership with Grohl begins.
• 1997 Paul McCartney knighted Sir Paul Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music.
• 1997 Heaven's Gate mass suicide 39 cult members die in coordinated suicide near San Diego Police discovered the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate religious group at a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California. The group believed a UFO trailing Comet Hale-Bopp would carry their souls to a higher existence after death. It remains the largest mass suicide on US soil.
• 1997 Regular Monday night shows at Barrister's Memphis Performed a series of regular Monday night solo shows at Barrister's bar in Memphis from 31 March 1997. His last performance there was on 26 May 1997 — three days before his death.