Editing 1997 (section)

===May===
* [[May 1]] – [[Tony Blair]] becomes [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]], as the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] wins the [[1997 United Kingdom general election]] and returns to government for the first time in 18 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Election. The Statistics. How the UK voted on May 1st. |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/news/05/0505/stats.shtml |website=BBC Politics 97 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=8 July 2020 |archive-date=March 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324034533/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/news/05/0505/stats.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[May 9]] – The first genetically modified three-parent baby is born.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.docguide.com/healthy-baby-born-after-worlds-first-successful-cytoplasmic-transfer |title=DocGuide |publisher=DocGuide |access-date=2015-11-25 |archive-date=October 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012010231/http://www.docguide.com/healthy-baby-born-after-worlds-first-successful-cytoplasmic-transfer |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[May 10]] – The 7.3 {{M|w}} [[1997 Qayen earthquake|Qayen earthquake]] strikes eastern [[Iran]] with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of X (''Extreme''). At least 1,567 were killed and 2,300 were injured.
* [[May 11]] – [[IBM]]'s [[Deep Blue (chess computer)|Deep Blue]] defeats [[Garry Kasparov]] in the [[Deep Blue – Kasparov, 1997, Game 6|last game]] of the rematch, the first time a computer beats a [[chess]] World champion in a match.
* [[May 12]]
**The [[Russia–Chechnya Peace Treaty]] is signed.
**An [[1997 Miami tornado|F1-rated tornado strikes]] downtown [[Miami]], causing $525,000 in damages. Pictures and videos of this tornado made news headlines around the world.
* [[May 15]] – The United States government acknowledges existence of the [[Laotian Civil War|"Secret War" in Laos]] ([[1953]]–[[1975]]) during the [[Vietnam War]], and dedicates the [[Laos Memorial]] in honor of [[Hmong people|Hmong]] and other "Secret War" veterans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130512005048/en/Laos-Hmong-Veterans-Vietnam-War-Honored-National|title=Laos, Hmong Veterans of Vietnam War Honored At National Ceremonies|website=Businesswire|date=13 May 2013|access-date=13 May 2024}}</ref>
* [[May 16]]
** [[First Congo War]] ends when president [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] is exiled from [[Zaire]].
** 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.
* [[May 17]] – Troops of [[Laurent-Désiré Kabila|Laurent Kabila]] march into [[Kinshasa]].
* [[May 21]] – [[Radiohead]] release [[OK Computer]]
* [[May 23]] 
**[[Mohammad Khatami]] wins the [[1997 Iranian presidential election]] and becomes the first [[Iran]]ian [[Reformist]] [[President of Iran|president]].
**A [[1997 Banjarmasin riot|riot]] in [[Banjarmasin]], [[Indonesia]] breaks out, causing at least 137 deaths.<ref>[http://articles.cnn.com/1997-05-25/world/9705_25_indo.elex_1_mitra-plaza-rioting-police-and-troops?_s=PM:WORLD 130 looters die in fire during Indonesian riot – CNN] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406042644/http://articles.cnn.com/1997-05-25/world/9705_25_indo.elex_1_mitra-plaza-rioting-police-and-troops?_s=PM:WORLD |date=2012-04-06 }}. Articles.cnn.com (1997-05-25). Retrieved on 2011-06-12.</ref>
* [[May 25]] – A [[military coup]] in [[Sierra Leone]] replaces President [[Ahmad Tejan Kabbah]] with Major [[Johnny Paul Koroma]].
* [[May 27]] – The [[1997 Prairie Dell-Jarrell tornado|fourth-deadliest tornado]] of the 1990s hits in [[Jarrell, Texas]], killing 27 people and causing extreme damage in the Double Creek Estates.
* [[May 31]] – The 13-kilometer [[Confederation Bridge]], the world's longest bridge spanning ice-covered waters, opens between [[Prince Edward Island]] and [[New Brunswick]], Canada.