“You can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.”

Will Smith’s Alex “Hitch” Hitchens dispenses this nugget of wisdom while taking his date to Ellis Island, and he has a point. Now that we have entered a new year, let’s take a look at a few of the anniversaries which will occur in 2009 — some Cornell-centric, some decidedly not, but all significant in some way. No matter what happens in the White House, Wall Street or the silver screen, 2009 is at least destined to be a big year in historical terms.

50th — Cuba Libre

Fidel Castro, mastermind of the Cuban Revolution, rode into Havana on Jan. 8, 1959 after his forces took control of the island and President Fulgencio Batista fled the country in the first hours of the new year. The Cuban expats have raised hell in Miami in the years since, but the spirit of revolutionary Che Guevara lives on (especially in those t-shirts).

It is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union.

Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was published 150 years ago.

Barack Obama’s inauguration on Tuesday is enough of a reason to make 2009 historic, but there are several other presidential milestones in the upcoming year. George Washington’s inauguration as the first president of the United States took place April 30, 1789 in New York City. Also, Abraham Lincoln was born 200 years ago, Feb. 12, 1809, in a one-room log cabin in Kentucky.

50th Odd States Out

Though the United States government bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, and it became an organized territory in 1912, Alaska did not officially become the 49th state until Jan. 3, 1959. Joining this largest state by area is the significantly smaller Hawaii, which was admitted to the Union later that year.

40th We're Takin' Over

2009 is the 40th anniversary of one of the seminal events in Cornell history, the takeover of Willard Straight Hall by a group of African-American students. On April 19, 1969, amid escalating racial tensions, students ejected parents visiting for “Parents Weekend” and occupied the building. As a result of the protests, the Africana Studies and Research Center and the University Senate were created later that year.

The name of the School of Home Economics was changed to the College of Human Ecology in 1969.

50th You Can't Hurry Love

Diana Ross & the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5. Berry Gordy founded Motown Records on Jan. 12, 1959, bringing these artists and many, many more to the attention of the world. “The Motown Sound” has left a legacy stretching over the past 50 years, even after the label moved from hometown Detroit to soulless L.A.

500th Womanizer

For fans of Showtime’s The Tudors, Henry VIII of the six wives assumed the English throne exactly 500 years ago.

140th Hot off the Press

The Cornell University Press was the first university publishing enterprise in the United States, originally founded in 1869.

5th Mission to Mars

The Mars rover Spirit touched down Jan. 3, 2004, and its twin Opportunity arrived 21 days later. Expected to last only three months each, the rovers have survived five years in the harsh Martian environment and still have some good work ahead of them. Cornell’s own Steve Squyres, astronomy, is the project’s principal investigator.

50th I'm a Barbie Girl

The original Barbie doll was created by Ruth Handler in 1959, inspired by the German Bild Lilli doll. Barbie, whose full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts, was named after Handler’s daughter. The original Barbie doll was sold on eBay for $3552.50 in 2004.

90th Longtime Rivals

The Red is part of the second-longest uninterrupted series in college football — The Cornell-Dartmouth and the Cornell-Penn series are tied for the honors, having met every season since 1919.