1776 - German romantic and fantasy author/composer Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann is born in Prussia. His work The Nutcracker Suite will be featured in Disney's 1940 Fantasia.

1906 - Director, animator, and future Disney Legend Wilfred Jackson is born in Chicago, Illinois. He will go on to direct over 60 Disney animated films including Cinderella and Lady and the Tramp, and contribute to early classics such as Steamboat Willie.

1927 - The Alice Comedy Alice Foils the Pirates, starring Margie Gay, is released.

1930 - Walt Disney signs a contract with King Features to distribute his Mickey Mouse comic strip.

1941 - The Disney short Pluto's Playmate is released.

1953 - Musician Matthew Wilder, best know for his 1983 hit song Break My Stride, is born in New York City. In 1998 he lent his singing voice to the character of Ling and was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Music Score (along with David Zippel and Jerry Goldsmith) for his work on the Disney animated film Mulan.

1965 - Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color premieres a new series titled "Gallegher (Boy Reporter)." The character, a turn-of-the-century copyboy with a nose for news, was created by American writer Richard Harding Davis. The Mellomen (a vocal group featuring Thurl Ravenscroft) make a brief appearance singing the theme song. The series will run through 1968.

1986 - Ricky Ullman, the star of Disney Channel's Phil of the Future, is born in Eilat, Israel. (Shortly after his first birthday his family will move to Fairfiled, Connecticut.) He also appears in Disney's 2004 made-for-TV movie Pixel Perfect and is the voice of Eric for the 2005 Kim Possible: So the Drama.

1993 - Mickey's Toontown opens at Disneyland in California. Among the new attractions is Gadget's Go Coaster (a children's roller coaster based on Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers.)

1993 - The 50th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1992 are presented. Disney's Aladdin wins for Best Original Score (by Alan Menken) and Best Original Song - "A Whole New World" (performed by Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle and written by Menken & Tim Rice). Although nominated for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical, Aladdin is edged out by The Player. Robin Williams is given a Special Award for his vocal contribution to Aladdin as the Genie.

1999 - At the Golden Globe Awards, "Reflection" (written by Matthew Wilder & David Zippel from Disney's Mulan) is edged out by "The Prayer" (from Quest for Camelot) for Best Original Song - Motion Picture. Best Original Score - Motion Picture goes to Burkhard von Dallwitz & Philip Glass for their contribution to The Truman Show, beating out Randy Newman's music for A Bug's Life.

2000 - Robert A. Iger (former chairman of the Disney-owned ABC Group and president of Walt Disney International) is named president and chief operating officer of The Walt Disney Co. as well as a member of its board of directors.

2000 - SoapNet - a cable station launched by Disney/ABC - hits the air.

2002 - Disney announces it will release its major holiday 2002 animated feature, Treasure Planet, simultaneously in 35mm venues as well as in IMAX theaters on November 27. The film is directed by John Musker and Ron Clements (the team responsible for such classics as The Little Mermaid) and features the vocal talents of Emma Thompson, Martin Short, and Brian Murray. Based on Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "Treasure Island," Treasure Planet is an animated space adventure that follows a fifteen-year-olds' fantastic journey across a parallel universe.

2003 - More than 100 Oscar statuettes presented over the past 75 years are featured in a new exhibition at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences beginning this day. Included in the exhibit is the regular sized statuette and its seven smaller friends that were awarded to Walt Disney for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

2003 - The Lizzie McGuire episode "Dear Lizzie" debuts on the Disney Channel. Premiering the same night is That's So Raven with the episode "A Fish Called Raven". The episode is directed by Fred Savage (star of the 1980s TV series The Wonder Years.)

2006 - Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, announces that Disney has agreed to acquire computer animation leader Pixar in an all-stock transaction (totaled to be worth approximately $7.4 billion), expected to be completed by this summer.

2007 - It is reported that Walt Disney World's "Strive for Five" energy reduction program has won the second-annual Florida Energy Achievement Award. The award is presented by the University of Central Florida's Florida Solar Energy Center to a company, organization or individual that has made a significant achievement in the efficient use of energy, energy conservation, energy education or renewable energy in Florida.

2007 - The official grand openings of Finding Nemo - The Musical at Animal Kingdom and The Seas with Nemo and Friends at Epcot take place. (Both attractions have been in previews since Autumn 2006.)

__________________