1913 - Senior executive and Disney Legend Donn Tatum is born in California. He will go on to help Roy O. Disney build Walt Disney World and assist Company president Card Walker in developing EPCOT Center. Later Tatum will succeed Roy O. Disney as chief executive and board chairman - becoming the first non-Disney family member to head the company!

1913 - Richard M. Nixon, the thirty-seventh United States President, is also born on this day, in Yorba Linda, California. As vice president, he will visit Disneyland with his family in 1959 and take part in the dedication of the park's new monorail system. Visit him and all the U.S. Chief Executives at Disney World's Hall of Presidents.

1916 - Administrator and Disney Legend Card Walker is born Esmond Cardon Walker in Rexburg, Idaho. A mailroom clerk for Disney in 1938, he will be elected president of The Walt Disney Company in 1971 - then called Walt Disney Productions. In 1976 Walker will be named chief executive officer, and finally in 1980 become chairman of the board, a position he will hold until his retirement in 1983.

1928 - Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon Harem Scarem is released.

1937 - Don Donald, featuring Donald Duck in his first starring role, is released. A character named Donna (who will later be called Daisy) makes her debut.

1938 - Leopold Stokowski conducts a recording session in Culver City, California, for a Disney animated segment called The Sorcerer's Apprentice. The musical piece, also called The Sorcerer's Apprentice, is written by French composer Paul Dukas. Walt has had to rent a studio as the 85 musicians whom Stokowski has selected cannot fit on Disney's Hyperion soundstage. The session is recorded late at night at the suggestion of Stokowski. He chooses nighttime because the musicians will have to drink coffee to stay awake and this will make them more alert! (The success of the session will help Walt decide to turn The Sorcerer's Apprentice into just one segment of a bigger "concert feature" called Fantasia ... featuring Stokowski and The Philadelphia Orchestra!)

1959 - The Walt Disney Presents TV series airs the 3rd Tales of Texas John Slaughter episode titled "Killers from Kansas." The show, which stars Tom Tryon as T.J. Slaughter, is Disney's attempt to recreate the wild success of Davy Crockett.

1976 - Disneyland opens the first Disneyana Shop on Main Street.

1977 - The New Mouseketeers perform in the Super Bowl XI halftime production number in Pasadena, California. The Oakland Raiders go on to thrash the Minnesota Vikings, 32-14.

1987 - Disneyland's Star Tours attraction opens in Tomorrowland (occupying the space where Adventure Thru Inner Space once stood). A simulator ride based on the Star Wars movies by George Lucas, it is the park's first attraction not to use Disney-designed imagery. The celebration lasts for 60 hours and guests are given a Star Tours Watch when they enter. The attraction features the voices of Paul Reubens (a.k.a. Pee Wee Herman) as Rex the bumbling pilot droid, Anthony Daniels as the voice of C-3PO, Steve Gawley as Red Leader, Dennis Murren as one of three ILMers (visible in a Maintenance Bay window), and Brian Cummings as the Vid-Screen announcer. The supervisor who ducks under the desk at the end of the ride is Ira Keeler - not George Lucas!

1992 - Painter-color stylist and Disney Legend Claude Coats passes away in Los Angeles, California. His stunning backgrounds can be seen in such animated classics as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Peter Pan.

1999 - Horizons closes forever at Walt Disney World's Epcot park. Opened since 1983, Horizons took guests on a fascinating 15-minute ride through the world of the 21st century. The pavilion will be destroyed and years later be replaced with Mission:SPACE.

2002 - The Disney owned baseball team, the Anaheim Angels announce a new look for the team's uniforms. Capturing the tradition of Angel baseball and a contemporary "back to basics" flare, the new logo features the signature halo surrounding the "A" while the uniforms are reminiscent of decades past. Red is the dominant color for all 4 of the new uniforms: home, road, alternate home and a batting practice jersey.

2004 - The daytime game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire, hosted by Meredith Vieira, tape episodes at the Disney-MGM Studios (for the next 3 days).

2004 - To celebrate the success of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover, Epcot guests, Mickey Mouse, and Cast Members sign a giant congratulatory postcard outside the Mission:SPACE attraction.

2004 - A new improved SaveDisney.com web site is launched.

2005 - Brazilian Adriano Bastos, 26 of Sao Paulo, posts a time of 2:19:16 winning the 2005 Walt Disney World Marathon. His second victory in the Florida marathon is the 18th-fastest Disney time ever. Amy Shertzer, 27, of Monument, Colorado, wins the women's full marathon with a time of 2:56:06. Michael McGrane of Somerville, Massachusetts, wins the men's half marathon leading the field of nearly 8,500 runners with a time of 1:13:08.

2006 - It is reported that the Royal Plaza in the Walt Disney World Resort has reopened after undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation. The hotel had been closed since August 2004, when it sustained damages from Hurricane Charley.

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