16 Historical Anniversaries That We Observed in 2009

Another year has come and gone. Here’s a look at 16 anniversaries that we celebrated in 2009. This post is a part of Daily Blog Tips’ Group Writing Project: 2009 in Review.

• 

  Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg

  5th Anniversary (Quinquennial): Facebook, the most popular social network in the world, was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. Membership was initially restricted to students at Harvard College (the undergraduate portion of Harvard University), but over the next two years, membership expanded to other American colleges. Finally, in September 2006, membership in Facebook was opened to anyone. The site now boasts a membership of over 350,000,000 registered users, which is 100,000,000 more than the second most popular social network, Myspace.

• 10th Anniversary (Decennial): One of the darker moments in recent history has been the use of landmines in warfare. The trouble with landmines is that after the war is over, often there are still landmines left behind, which kill and maim innocent civilians. By the 1990s, an effort to ban landmines gained broad support, and by 1999, 133 countries signed the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (aka the Ottawa Treaty). On November 30, 2009, Rwanda became the first country declared landmine free under the conditions of the Ottawa Treaty.
• 

  Nelson Mandela

  15th Anniversary (Quindecennial): In 1994, after 46 years of strife, South Africa finally abolished apartheid. Although the dismantling of apartheid began in 1990, the culmination was in 1994, when South Africa held its first multi-racial presidential elections. Nelson Mandela won, becoming South Africa’s first black president. Because of their efforts, Mandela and former President of South Africa F.W. de Klerk won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. For Mandela it was a 30 year long road to redemption.

• 20th Anniversary (Vicennial): The Fall of the Berlin Wall. On November 9, 1989, after 44 years of restrictions placed on travel between East Germany and West Germany, the wall “came down.” The collapse of this symbol of totalitarian oppression and the Cold War precipitated the collapse of communism throughout Eastern Europe. On Novemeber 9, 2009, the city of Berlin held a Festival of Freedom to celebrate the 20th anniversary of reunification.
• 25th Anniversary: The World’s worst industrial accident took place in Bhopal, India on December 3, 1984. A Union Carbide chemical plant released a deadly poison cloud that killed over 2000 people. However, the true death toll may never be known, as the cloud maimed countless survivors, and the poisoned water system has caused countless birth defects. The cause of the accident was determined to be due to a lack of safety protocols at the plant in an effort to reduce costs. Despite the fact that this accident could have been prevented, no one has been prosecuted, and courts in India and the United States are still hearing civil arguments.
• 

  Mass Demonstration during the Iranian Revolution

  30th Anniversary: In 1979, the world witnessed the Iranian Revolution. Unique for its lack of immediate precipitating factors other than human misery, it transformed Iran into the world’s only Islamic Republic. In the past 30 years, however, many would argue that conditions have not improved, as evidenced by this past summer’s election protests. One of the most unique aspects of the Iranian Revolution and it’s aftermath, though, is that it could have all been avoided.

• 

  Buzz Aldrin on the Moon

  40th Anniversary: On July 20, 1969, astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first people to set foot on the moon. Their accomplishments would pave the way for the future of the space program, and NASA would send five more successful missions to the moon. It was a fitting punctuation mark to the decade, considering John F. Kennedy promised in 1961 that man would land on the moon before the end of the 1960s. The last mission to the moon was in 1972, and no space mission has left low earth orbit since. The astronauts on the Apollo mission were true heroes.

• 50th Anniversary (Semicentennial): On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state in the U.S. In honor of the occasion, I dedicated a series, 50 Years of 50 States, to each state in the Union. In Hawaii, there were only subdued celebrations of this feat, and even less celebration in the rest of the U.S. However, this was an important milestone because the U.S. has been complete for half a century, which is the longest the country has ever gone without adding new states.
• 60th Anniversary: In June 1949, barely six months before his death, George Orwell published 1984. This work, along with Animal Farm, inspired the creation of new vocabulary terms such as Orwellian and Big Brother. Sixty years later, between Google keeping your private data, and major cities putting cameras on every street corner, this work is frighteningly more prescient than Orwell could have ever imagined.
• 70th Anniversary: On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, igniting World War II, the deadliest, most destructive conflict in the history of mankind. There’s no way of knowing how many were killed in the war, but estimates range in the 50-75 million range. Regardless of the number killed, everyone was a victim, as World War II brought us such horrors as nuclear weapons and The Holocaust.
• 80th Anniversary: 1929 saw the start of the Great Depression, the worst economic downturn of the 20th century. The Great Depression lead to the rise of fascist regimes in Europe, and ultimately to World War II. When it was all said and done, unemployment in the U.S. rose as high as 25%, and by 1933, the stock market had lost 90% of its value. The Great Depression brought about many New Deal reforms that still exist today including Social Security, the FDIC, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the abandonment of the gold standard. The current economic recession has drawn parallels to the Great Depression.
• 90th Anniversary: From July 7-September 6, 1919, a U.S. Army convoy traveled from New York to San Francisco in an attempt to determine how long it could take to mobilize certain regions of the country. The trip, which took two months and had many setbacks, included a young officer named Dwight Eisenhower who made it a priority to build a national highway system when he became president. That one trip was the impetus behind the creation of the greatest network of highways in the world.
• 

  Explorer Matthew Henson

  100th Anniversary (Centennial): On April 6, 1909, Robert Peary and Matthew Henson became the first people to set foot on the North Pole. Because of the brutal polar conditions, as well as the fact that there is no land on the North Pole, this feat was immediately called into question. Nonetheless, the accomplishment has been observed for the last 100 years. Even more significant is that Matthew Henson, an African-American, actually planted the flag at the North Pole since Peary was suffering from exhaustion or illness. Robert Peary received awards and accolades for the accomplishments. Unfortunately for Henson, he wouldn’t be recognized until 1944, when Congress awarded him a duplicate of the silver medal awarded to Peary.

• 200th Anniversary (Bicentennial): Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the same day, February 12, 1809. Charles Darwin’s studies were instrumental to the study of modern biology. Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the greatest American Presidents in history, and he presided over the most tumultuous time in American history.
• 

  Arthur Guinness

  250th Anniversary (Semiquincentennial): In 1759, Arthur Guinness created the Guinness brewery, which became the best-selling alcoholic drink in Ireland of all-time. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the brewery Guinness re-released a 250th anniversary edition of its original brew called Guinness 250. Guinness’ popularity in recent years can be attributed to the popular “My Goodness, My Guinness!” ads. Also, in case you were wondering, Guinness is, in fact, the namesake of the Guinness Book of World Records, which was first published in the 1950s.

• 

  Henry VIII

  500th Anniversary (Quincentennial): Henry VIII was crowned King of England on June 24, 1509. He’s most (in)famous for creating the Church of England when the Pope wouldn’t grant him a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. However, Henry VIII was instrumental in transforming England into a naval power, which led to England becoming a world power. Henry VIII is one of the most influential English monarchs in history. Useless fact: Henry was a strapping young lad, and was a good athlete in his younger years. However, by the time of his death, Henry VIII is estimated to have weighed over 350 pounds.

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