Walt Disney Is Born

Setting the scene

Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Marceline, Missouri, and Kansas City. He drew for a neighborhood paper and drove an ambulance in France after World War I before animating in Kansas City.

What happened

He co-founded Disney Brothers Studio with brother Roy, created Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie (1928), and released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), the first full-length animated feature. Disneyland opened in Anaheim in 1955.

Why it still matters

Disney won 26 Academy Awards and built a media empire continued after his 1966 death. Memorable detail: Disney took out multiple mortgages on his house to finish Snow White; skeptics called it 'Disney's Folly' until it earned roughly $8 million in its initial run.

Background

Snow White and Disneyland followed.