| January 1 | All California bars, clubs and card rooms must be smoke-free |
| January 1 | Mongolia switches from a 46 hour to 40 hour work week |
| January 1 | Rose Bowl, Michigan Wolverines beat Washington State Cougars 21 - 16 |
| January 1 | U.S. Census Bureau estimates population at 268,921,733 |
| January 2 | Autopsy of Chris Farley shows he overdosed of opiates and cocaine |
| January 3 | Grandpa Jones suffers a stroke |
| January 3 | "Side Show," closes at Richard Rodgers New York City after 91 performances |
| January 4 | "Funny Thing Happened," closes at St. James New York City after 715 perform |
| January 4 | "Ivanov," closes at Vivian Beaumont Theater New York City after 51 performances |
| January 4 | "Triumph of Love," closes at Royale Theater New York City |
| January 5 | Ice storm knocks out electricity in Quebec and Ontario |
| January 5 | Vandals decapitate Copenhagen's Little Mermaid |
| January 6 | Barry Switzer resigns as Dallas Cowboy coach |
| January 6 | Don Sutton selected to Baseball Hall of Fame |
| January 8 | New York Giant General Manager George Young resigns to accept NFL position |
| January 8 | Roseanne files for divorce from 3rd husband Ben Thomas |
| January 8 | Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski asks to act as his own lawyer |
| January 8 | World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Ahmed Yousef sentenced to life |
| January 9 | Anatoly Karpov defeats Viswanathan Anand to retain chess title |
| January 9 | Anatoly Solovyov and Pavel Vinogradov spacewalk record 3 hours 8 minutes |
| January 9 | Decapitated head of Danish Little Mermaid is returned |
| January 9 | Hockey News selects Wayne Gretzky best NHL player ever |
| January 10 | 18th United Negro College Fund raises (rebroadcasted Jan 17th) |
| January 11 | 24th Annual People's Choice Awards - Seinfeld, Tim Allen win |
| January 11 | AFC Championship: Denver Broncos beat Pittsburgh Steelers 24-21 |
| January 11 | NFC Championship: Green Bay Packers beat San Francisco 49'ers 23-10 |
| January 11 | "Proposals," closes at Broadhurst Theater New York City after 76 performances |
| January 11 | U.S. Female Figure Skating championship won by Michelle Kwan |
| January 13 | CBS pays $4 billion to televise AFC games for 8-years |
| January 13 | "Patti LaBelle On Broadway," opens at St. James Theater New York City |
| January 14 | 100th episode of "Ellen," airs |
| January 14 | Charles Barkley pleads not guilty to an assault charge |
| January 15 | NASA announces John Glenn, 76, may fly in space again |
| January 17 | President Clinton faces sexual harrament charges from Paula Jones |
| January 18 | 48th NHL All-Star Game: North America beats World 8-7 at Vancouver |
| January 18 | 55th Golden Globes Awards |
| January 18 | ABL All-Star Game at Disney complex in Orlando |
| January 18 | Boston Celtics retire Robert Parrish's #00 |
| January 18 | Kelly Robbins wins Healthsouth Golf Inaugural |
| January 18 | "Ragtime," opens at Ford Theater New York City |
| January 18 | UCP Telethon |
| January 20 | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Mama and Papas and Eagles |
| January 20 | Warner Brothers TV Network begins Tueday night programming |
| January 21 | News of the Lewinsky/Clinton affair is published, President Clinton vigorously denies all allegations |
| January 21 | Pope John Paul II visits Cuba |
| January 22 | NHL's Minnesota franchise selects the nickname Wild |
| January 22 | Rickey Henderson, rejoins Oakland A's for 4th time |
| January 22 | STS-89 (Endeavour 12) launches into orbit |
| January 22 | World League of American Football becomes NFL East |
| January 23 | Pope John Paul II condemns U.S. embargo against Cuba |
| January 25 | Britain's Queen Mother, 97, gets an emergency hip replacement |
| January 25 | "Grease," closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater New York City after 1,503 performance |
| January 25 | Helen Alfredsson wins Office Depot LPGA tournament |
| January 25 | "Patti LaBelle On Broadway," closes at St. James Theater New York City |
| January 25 | Spice Girl Victoria Adams, aka Posh Spice, and soccer David Beckham gets engaged |
| January 25 | Super Bowl XXXII, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Denver Broncos beat Green Bay Packers 31-24 |
| January 25 | Superbowl XXXII: Denver Broncos beat Green Bay Packers 31-24 |
| January 26 | 25th American Music Award: Spice Girls and Babyface win |
| January 26 | Intel launches 333 MHz Pentium II chip |
| January 26 | President Clinton says "I want to say one thing to the American people I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky" |
| January 27 | Crane crashes into Roosevelt Is (New York City) Tram, injuring 10 |
| January 27 | First Lady Hilary Clinton blames charges that President Clinton had affairs part of a vast right-wing conspiracy |
| January 27 | WNBA begins filling rosters of Washington Mystics and Detroit Shock |
| January 28 | Michelangelo, "Christ and the Woman of Samaria," sold for $7.4 million |
| January 29 | "Capeman," opens at Marquis Theater New York City |
| January 29 | Singers Bobby Brown found guiilty of DWI in Ft. Lauderdale Fla |
| January 29 | Soyuz TM-27 launches to MIR |
| January 29 | Thick Fog causes highway carnage in Belgium and Netherlands, 6 die |
| January 29 | Woman's Clinic in Birmingham Alabama bombed, 1 killed |
| January 30 | All-Star Florida Marlin catcher Darren Daulton, retires |
| January 30 | Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Indianapolis, Indiana on WNAP 93.1 FM |
| January 30 | Paul Simon's "The Capeman," premieres |
| January 31 | 72nd Australian Womens Tennis: Martina Hingis beats C Martinez (63 63) |
| January 31 | STS-89 (Endeavour 12) lands |
| February 1 | 86th Australian Mens Tennis: Petr Korda beats Marcelo Rios (62 62 62) |
| February 1 | At least 119 Muslim pilgrims crushed to death during the annual stoning of Satan ritual in the Mena Valley, Saudi Arabia |
| February 1 | Australian Mixed: J. Gimelstob and V. Williams beat Suk and Sukova (62 61) |
| February 1 | NFL Pro Bowl Game, AFC beats NFC 29-24 |
| February 1 | "Street Corner Symphony," closes at Brooks Atkinson New York City after 79 perf |
| February 2 | Daniel Baldwin hospitalized in New York City for cocaine overdose |
| February 2 | Philippine DC-9 crashes apparently killing all 104 on board |
| February 3 | Florida Panther Dino Ciccarelli's is 9th NHLer to score 600 career goals |
| February 3 | New York Yankees replace general manager Bob Watson with Brian Cashman |
| February 3 | Stamps commemorating Princess Diana go on sale across Britain |
| February 3 | U.S. military plane clips cable car lines in northern Italy, kills 20 |
| February 4 | Bill Gates gets a pie thrown in his face in Brussels Belgium |
| February 4 | Earthquake kills about 2,300 in northern Afghanistan |
| February 5 | Alberto Acciarito convicted of harassing his ex-wife Ingrid Rossellini |
| February 5 | Author Tom Clancy confirms he signed agreement to purchase Minnesota Vikings for slightly more than $200 million, an NFL franchise record |
| February 6 | Mary Kay LeTourneau, 36, former teacher, who violated probation by seeing 14 year old father of her baby, sentenced to 7 years |
| February 6 | President Bill Clinton says he would never resign, 'I would never walk away from the of this country and the trust they've placed in me', during a press conference |
| February 6 | Twins trade Chuck Knoblauch to New York Yankees for $3M and 4 minor leaguers |
| February 7 | 18th Winter Olympic games open at Nagano Japan |
| February 7 | NHL's Dallas Stars retire Neal Broten's #7 |
| February 8 | 1st female ice hockey game in Olympic history Finland beats Sweden 6-0 |
| February 8 | 48th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 135-114 at New York City |
| February 8 | NHL stops season until Feb 24th to accomodate the Olympics |
| February 9 | 6th annual ESPY Awards |
| February 9 | Failed assassination attempt on Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze |
| February 10 | AOL raises monthly flat rate internet access from $19.95 to $21.95 |
| February 10 | Olympic figure skater Peggy Fleming undergoes breast cancer surgery |
| February 11 | KVBC-FM (Las Vegas) offers Monica Lewinsky $5M for interview |
| February 11 | Lyrics to "Candle in the Wind 1997," auctioned for $442,500 |
| February 12 | 250-car Italy pile-up due to fog, 4 die and 50 hurt |
| February 12 | Dallas Cowboys sign Chan Gailey as their 4th head coach |
| February 12 | "Freak," opens at Cort Theater New York City |
| February 12 | Intel unveils its 1st graphics chip i740 |
| February 12 | U.S. district judge T. Hogan declares line-item veto law unconstitutional |
| February 15 | Dale Eggeling wins Los Angeles Women's Golf Championship |
| February 15 | Daytona 500 race |
| February 16 | Tellabs Inc. acquires Coherent Communications Systems for $670 million |
| February 17 | Diane Zamora, 20, Naval Academy cadet convicted of capital murder |
| February 17 | Larry Wayne Harris and Bill Levitt arrested for possession of anthrax |
| February 18 | New York Rangers fire head coach Colin Campbell |
| February 19 | Soyuz TM-26 lands |
| February 19 | U.S. hockey team destroys their rooms at Olympic village in Japan |
| February 20 | Tara Lipinski wins Olympic figure skating gold medal |
| February 20 | U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan lands in Baghdad, for peace negotiations |
| February 20 | U.S. movie box office hits quickest $1 billion for year (51 days) |
| February 21 | Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Golf Open |
| February 22 | 18th Winter Olympic games close at Nagano Japan |
| February 22 | "King and I," closes at Neil Simon Theater New York City after 781 performances |
| February 23 | Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Charleston South Carolina on WAVF 96.1 FM |
| February 23 | Supreme Court lets Megan's Law stand |
| February 23 | Tornadoes in Florida kills at least 31 |
| February 24 | Elton John knighted |
| February 24 | NHL resumes season since Feb 8th to accomodate the Olympics |
| February 25 | 40th Grammy Awards, Shawn Colvin, Bob Dylan, Sarah McLachlan, and Elton John win major awards |
| February 25 | Pamela Lee has husband Tommy Lee arrested on battery charges |
| February 25 | Switzerland's 1st legal brothel opens in Zurich |
| February 26 | Oprah Winfrey beats Texas cattlemen in beef trial |
| February 26 | Steven M. Gluckstern completes sale of New York Islanders |
| February 26 | Total solar eclipse in Venezuela-Pacific Ocean (4m09) |
| February 27 | 14th Soap Opera Digest Awards |
| February 27 | Apple discontinues developing Newton computer |
| February 27 | FBI arrests 10 most wanted suspected serial killer Tony Ray Amati |
| February 27 | New England Patriot David Meggett arrested in Toronto on sex assault charges |
| February 28 | Vancouver Canucks Mark Messier is 4th NHLer to get 1,600 points |
| February 28 | "View From the Bridge," closes at Criterion Theater New York City |
| March 1 | "Art," opens at Royale Theater New York City |
| March 1 | Australian Ladies Masters Golf |
| March 3 | Bill Gates testifies at Senate Judiciary Committee |
| March 6 | 1st time the British flag is flown over Buckingham Palace |
| March 6 | Matt Beck, an angry lottery accountant kills 4 at Connecticut state lottery |
| March 10 | 4th Blockbuster Entertainment Awards |
| March 12 | "Sound of Music," opens at Martin Beck Theater New York City |
| March 15 | "Cabaret," opens at Club Expo Theater New York City |
| March 15 | Welch's/Circle K Golf Championship |
| March 17 | USA Women's Hockey Team beats Canada for 1st Olympic Gold medal |
| March 19 | "Ah Wilderness!," opens at Vivian Beaumont theater |
| March 22 | 18th Golden Raspberry Awards |
| March 23 | 70th Academy Awards - Oscar Ceremony Billy Crystal hosts, Titanic wins eleven Oscars, including Best Picture, Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt win lead acting awards |
| March 29 | 17th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: at Kemper Arena KC |
| March 29 | 27th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship |
| March 30 | 60th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: at Alamodome San Antonio |
| March 31 | Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1st game they host Detroit Tigers |
| April 1 | Paula Jones' sexual harassment case against President Bill Clinton is thrown out of court |
| April 1 | World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship in Minn |
| April 2 | World Mens Figure Skating Championship in Minnesota |
| April 3 | World Ice Dance Figure Skating Championship in Minnesota |
| April 4 | NFL Europe (Formerly WLAF), kicks off season |
| April 10 | Negotiators from various factions sign the Good Friday Agreement, a plan for peace in Northern Ireland. |
| April 12 | 62nd Golf Masters Championship: |
| April 19 | 59th PGA Seniors Golf Championship |
| April 20 | Federal court rules that Monica Lewinsky does not have an immunity agreement with Kenneth Starr |
| April 29 | 15th Miss Hawaiian Tropic crowned |
| May 2 | 124th Kentucky Derby |
| May 3 | wins Titleholders Golf Championship |
| May 5 | Federal court rules President Clinton does not have executive privilege in the Lewinsky case so he must testify |
| May 9 | ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by |
| May 11 | India resumes underground nuclear tests after more than a 20 year gap |
| May 14 | Last episode of Seinfeld on NBC, commercials are $2 million each |
| May 16 | 124th Preakness |
| May 17 | 44th McDonald's LPGA Championship |
| May 22 | Federal rules that the Secret Service must testify in the Lewinsky case |
| May 24 | Indianapolis 500 race |
| May 26 | Date for Paula Jones sex harassment trial vs. President Clinton |
| May 28 | Pakistan tests underground nuclear weapons, sparking fears of a nuclear conflict with India |
| May 30 | Earthquake kills about 5,000 in northern Afghanistan |
| June 6 | 68th French Womens Tennis: |
| June 6 | Tony Awards, Side Man, Death of a Salesman revival, Annie Get Your Gun revival and You're a Good Man Charlie Brown revival won major awards |
| June 7 | Tony Awards, Lion King, Caberet revival, Ragtime, and The Beauty Queen of Leenane won major awards |
| June 14 | "Comic Relief" benefit comedy show |
| June 14 | NBA Finals, Chicago Bulls beat Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 |
| June 14 | World Bowl in Frankfurt Germany |
| June 15 | 32nd TNN Music City News Country Awards |
| June 16 | Stanley Cup Finals, Detroit Red Wings beat Washington Capitals 4 games to 0 |
| June 21 | 98th U.S. Golf Open: at Olympic Club SF |
| June 25 | Supreme Court rules attorney-client privilege extends beyond the grave, exempting Vince Foster's conversations with his lawyers from being used as evidence by Kenneth Starr |
| June 30 | Linda Tripp begins to testify before a grand jury about the Lewinsky case |
| June 30 | Sega Channel, cable's 1st on-demand video game service, closes down02930301 |
| July 4 | Wimbledon Men's Doubles Finals, Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis beat Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde |
| July 4 | Wimbledon Women's Finals, Jana Novotna beat Nathalie Tauziat |
| July 5 | 53rd U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship at Blackwolf Run GC, Kohler WI |
| July 5 | Wimbledon Men's Finals, Pete Sampras beat Goran Ivanisevic |
| July 5 | Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Finals, Max Mirnyi and Serena Williams beat Mahesh Bhupathi and Mirjana Lucic |
| July 5 | Wimbledon Women's Doubles Finals, Martina Hingis and Jana Novotna beat Lindsay Davenport and Natasha Zvereva |
| July 7 | 69th All Star Baseball Game: at Coors Field, Denver |
| July 12 | 16th Seniors Players Golf Championship: |
| July 12 | Jamie Farr Kroger Golf Classic |
| July 17 | Russia buries tsar Nicholas II and family, 80 years after they died |
| July 19 | 127th British Golf Open: at Royal Birkdale |
| July 19 | JAL Big Apple Golf Classic |
| July 26 | 19th U.S. Senior Golf Open ends at Riviera CC, Pacific Palisades, California |
| July 26 | Giant Eagle LPGA Classic |
| July 28 | After months of wrangling, Lewinsky and Starr announce a full immunity agreement for Lewinsky and her parents |
| August 1 | Gay and Lesbian Games #5 open in Amsterdam |
| August 2 | 26th du Maurier Golf Classic |
| August 7 | U.S. embassies bombed in Kenya and Tanzania killing at least 200 |
| August 9 | Star Bank LPGA Classic |
| August 15 | Bill Clinton confesses to Hilary about the Monica Lewinsky affair |
| August 15 | Twenty nine murdered by Irish terrorists in Omagh, Northern Ireland |
| August 16 | 80th PGA Championship at Sahalee CC, Seattle WA |
| August 16 | Weetabix Women's British Golf Open |
| August 17 | President Bill Clinton testifies before a grand jury investigating his conduct (first president to do so), and admits an 'inappropriate relationship' with Monica Lewinsky |
| August 23 | Minnesota LPGA Classic |
| August 30 | State Farm Rail Golf Classic |
| September 1 | WNBA Championships, Houston Comets beat Phoenix Mercury 2 games to 1 |
| September 2 | SwissAir flight 111 crashes off the coast of Nova Scotia killing all 229 onbaord, likely cause was an electrical fire |
| September 5 | Women's championship at U.S. Tennis Open |
| September 6 | Men's championship at U.S. Tennis Open |
| September 6 | Safeway LPGA Golf Championship |
| September 7 | Jerry Lewis' 33rd Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises |
| September 8 | Mark McGwire breaks Roger Marris' 62 home run record for a season, and goes on to hit 70 home runs for the 1998 season |
| September 13 | SAFECO Golf Classic |
| September 14 | Week of Fed Cup |
| September 27 | Core States Betsy King Golf Classic |
| September 28 | Europe beats U.S. in Ryder Cup, 14 -13 |
| October 5 | House Judiciary Committee recommends a full impeachment inquiry |
| October 8 | House of Representatives approves impeachment inquiry of President Clinton |
| October 11 | Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail LPGA Tournament |
| October 14 | New York Islanders beat Tampa Bay, 7-1, to end 11 game winless streak |
| October 18 | Samsung World Championship of Women's Golf |
| October 21 | World Series, New York Yankees beat San Diego Padres 4 games to 0 |
| October 29 | John Glenn returns to space at the age of 77 as a payload specialist on the Discovery |
| November 1 | Nichirei Golf International |
| November 8 | Japan Golf Classic |
| November 12 | New York Islanders tie Detroit Red Wings 1-1, to end 10 game losing streak |
| November 22 | ITT LPGA Tour Championship |
| December 6 | JC Penney Golf Classic |
| December 19 | House of Representatives approves two articles of impeachment, charging President Clinton with lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice |
| December 20 | Wendy's Three-Tour Golf Challenge |
| December 31 | U.S. movie box office hits record $6.24 billion for year |
