1831 - The novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame (in French, Notre-Dame de Paris) by French author Victor Hugo is first published. Set in 1482 Paris, the story will become enormously popular and be adapted to the screen a number of times. Hugo's novel will inspire the 1996 Disney animated feature.

1898 - Author and mathematician Lewis Carroll, best remembered for his Alice books, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) dies suddenly of violent pneumonia. (His work will have a lasting impression on many - including Walt Disney.)

1924 - Actor Guy Williams is born Armand Joseph Catalano in New York City. He will go on to be the star of Disney's Zorro TV series (as well as the classic 60s sci-fi series Lost In Space).

1926 - Actor and author Tom Tryon is born in Hartford, Connecticut. Disney fans will know him as the TV cowboy Texas John Slaughter (shown on the Wonderful World of Disney from 1958-1961). Tryon is also the star of Disney's 1962 live-action comedy Moon Pilot.

1949 - Disney's Pluto short Pueblo Pluto is released.

1955 - The Donald Duck short No Hunting is released. Disney's first short of the new year, it will be nominated for an Academy Award (Short Subjects - Cartoons).

1962 - The NBC-TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs part 2 of "The Silver Skates."

1979 - The Wonderful World of Disney airs part 2 of "Donovan's Kid," starring Darren McGavin, Mickey Rooney and Shelley Fabares.

1990 - Epcot's Person of the Century attraction is launched at CommuniCore West.

2001 - Starting today, Disney Auctions offers Disney Parks and Resorts One-of-a-Kind Collector Pins. As part of the 15-month Millennium Celebration at Disney World, guests were introduced to pin trading & collecting. While the pins are no longer available at the parks, collectors can now bid for one-of-a-kind collectors' pins at Disney Auctions (eBay: Redirect). For the first time ever online, Disney offers retired pins and one-of-a-kind prototype pins.

2003 - Disney releases 4 classic live-action films on video & DVD: The Absent-Minded Professor, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The Moon-Spinners, and The Horse In The Gray Flannel Suit.

2005 - The Disney Channel Original Movie Now You See It... debuts. Starring Alyson Michalka (of Aly & AJ), Johnny Pacar, and Frank Langella, the movie features a cover version of of the song "Do You Believe in Magic" performed by Aly & AJ.

2006 - Actress Shelley Winters passes away in Beverly Hills, California. A two-time Oscar winner, she appears in Disney's 1977 Pete's Dragon.

2007 - The NFFC (the club for Disneyana enthusiasts) host the World's Largest Strictly Disneyana Show & Sale at the Crowne Plaza Resort Hotel in Garden Grove, California.

2007 - Emmy-winning composer Harvey Cohen passes away at age 55 in Los Angeles. He orchestrated music for Disney's live-action 2006 feature The Shaggy Dog, and composed music for both the 1998 Belle's Magical World and the 1994 TV series Aladdin.

2008 - Starting on this day (and continuing through the next 10 days) Imagineers field test a wireless device at Disney World known as the Disney Magic Connection. The hand-held unit has the potential to inform guests in real time what the current wait time is at a specific attraction! It will also let a visitor know whether there are any FastPasses left for a particular attraction ... and when they will be available. Sixty families will be randomly chosen each day at the Magic Kingdom to participate in the program.

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