The Life of Walt Disney

Born

Dec 5, 1901

Walt Disney's BiographyWalt Disney was born on December 5, 1901. Information in this timeline was acquired from Walt Disney's biography page.

Moved to Kansas

Jan 1, 1911

In 1911, Walt, his parents, and his four siblings moved to Kansas City.

Dropped out of High School

Nov 10, 1917

"When Disney was 16, he dropped out of school to join the army but was rejected for being underage. Instead, he joined the Red Cross and was sent to France for a year to drive an ambulance."

Back to Kansas City

Oct 8, 1919

"When Disney returned from France in 1919, he moved back to Kansas City to pursue a career as a newspaper artist."

Kansas City Film Ad Company

Sep 2, 1920

"Disney began experimenting with a camera, doing hand-drawn cel animation, and decided to open his own animation business. From the ad company, he recruited Fred Harman as his first employee. Walt and Harman made a deal with a local Kansas City theater to screen their cartoons, which they called Laugh-O-Grams."

Bankrupt

Apr 7, 1923

"By 1923, the studio had become burdened with debt, and Disney was forced to declare bankruptcy."

Mrs. Disney

May 23, 1925

"In 1925, Disney hired an ink-and-paint artist named Lillian Bound. After a brief courtship, the couple married."

Here comes Mickey

Feb 25, 1929

"In 1929, Disney created Silly Symphonies, which featured Mickey's newly created friends, including Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto."

First Feature Film

Dec 21, 1937

On December 21, 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated film, premiered in Los Angeles. It produced an unimaginable $1.499 million, in spite of the Depression, and won a total of eight Oscars. During the next five years, Walt Disney Studios completed another string of full-length animated films, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi.

Disneyland

Jul 18, 1955

Disney's $17 million Disneyland theme park opened in 1955.

Death

Dec 15, 1966

"Within a few years of the opening, Disney began plans for a new theme park and Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow in Florida. It was still under construction when, in 1966, Disney was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died on December 15, 1966, at the age of 65."