Timeline May 1997

Events in May 1997 16

• 1966 – 1997 Jeff Buckley American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley (1966-1997) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, son of folk musician Tim Buckley, celebrated for his extraordinary four-octave voice and his 1994 debut album Grace. He died by accidental drowning in the Mississippi River at 30, leaving behind one of the most cherished and influential catalogs in rock music.
• 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.
• 1997 1997 World Snooker Championship Doherty Victory Ken Doherty ends Hendrys reign. Winner: Ken Doherty; Runner-up: Stephen Hendry. Score: 18–12.
• 1997 Pentium II and the iMac challenge Intel introduces the Pentium II in May 1997 — housed in a distinctive cartridge rather than a socket, running at 233–450MHz with 7.5 million transistors. The Pentium II dominates the PC market. But Apple's introduction of the iMac in 1998, using Motorola/IBM PowerPC processors, demonstrates that Intel's architecture is not the only path to a compelling personal computer. The PowerPC's performance per watt exceeds Intel's offerings — a warning Intel fails to heed about the future importance of power efficiency.
• 1997 Serie A title with Juventus Zidane wins his first Scudetto Zidane won the Serie A title with Juventus in the 1996-97 season, his first major domestic honor in Italian football. Juventus also reached the Champions League final that year but lost 3-1 to Borussia Dortmund. Zidane's creativity in midfield was central to the club's dominance of Italian football during this period.
• 1997 Tony Blair becomes British prime minister Labour wins landslide general election victory The Labour Party led by Tony Blair won a landslide victory in the UK general election, ending eighteen years of Conservative government. Blair became prime minister at age 43, one of the youngest in British history. Labour secured a majority of 179 seats in the House of Commons.
• 1997 Crosby, Stills & Nash inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Crosby and Stills are inducted twice.
• 1997 Joni Mitchell inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Absent She stays away from the ceremony.
• 1997 Parliament-Funkadelic inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Sixteen members inducted.
• 1997 Liar Liar #5 film of 1997 — $302m worldwide Directed by Tom Shadyac, starring Jim Carrey. A lawyer is cursed by his son's birthday wish to tell the truth for one whole day.
• 1997 Deep Blue defeats Kasparov 3½-2½ Machine beats champion for first time IBM's improved Deep Blue defeated Kasparov 3½-2½ in New York in the rematch, becoming the first computer to defeat a reigning World Champion in a classical match. The result shocked the world and marked a turning point in artificial intelligence.
• 1997 Deep Blue defeats Kasparov 3½-2½ Machine beats champion for first time IBM's improved Deep Blue defeated Kasparov 3½-2½ in New York in the rematch, becoming the first computer to defeat a reigning World Champion in a classical match. The result shocked the world and marked a turning point in artificial intelligence.
• 1997 Mobutu Sese Seko overthrown in Zaire Laurent-Desire Kabila takes power, renames country Congo Rebel leader Laurent-Desire Kabila's forces captured Kinshasa, ending Mobutu Sese Seko's 32-year rule over Zaire. Kabila declared himself president and renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mobutu fled into exile and died months later.
• 1997 Foo Fighters release The Colour and the Shape Everlong With Everlong and My Hero — their breakthrough.
• 1997 The Lost World: Jurassic Park #2 film of 1997 — $618m worldwide Directed by Steven Spielberg. A research team goes to the island where the dinosaurs have bred naturally.
• 1997 Jeff Buckley dies in the Wolf River, Memphis 29 May 1997 On the evening of 29 May 1997, Buckley waded fully clothed — wearing steel-toed boots — into Wolf River Harbor, a tributary of the Mississippi, while singing along to Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" on his roadie's boombox. When his roadie Keith Foti looked away to move equipment from an approaching tugboat's wake, Buckley vanished. No alcohol or drugs were found in his autopsy. His body was recovered on 4 June by passengers on the riverboat American Queen.