1743 - Thomas Jefferson, the third United States President (and author of the Declaration of Independence), is born in Albemarle County, Virginia. Visit him and all the U.S. Chief Executives at Disney World's The Hall of Presidents.

1887 - Character actor Christian Rub - the voice & physical likeness for Geppetto in Disney's 1940 Pinocchio - is born in Austria. (Ironically Rub is featured in a 1940 version of Swiss Family Robinson - the exact version Disney bought up the rights to when planning its remake!)

1935 - The Walt Disney Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey's Kangaroo, directed by David Hand, is released. It is the last Disney cartoon produced in black and white.

1954 - Disney supervising animator and storyboard artist Glen Keane is born in Arbington, Pennyslvania. His Disney credits include such classics as Treasure Planet, Pocahontas, Aladdin, and Tarzan. (Glen is the son of Bil Keane, creator of the newspaper comic Family Circus.)

1965 - Walt Disney, his brother Roy, and other Disney executives visit the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Walt has become friendly with Wernher von Braun, the director of the center and technical advisor on three space-related television films that Disney produced in the 1950s. (Wernher will go on to help NASA land men on the moon!) On the front page of the Hunstville Times is the headline: "Walt Disney Makes Pledge to Aid Space". Walt is quoted as saying "If I can help through my TV shows ... to wake people up to the fact we've got to keep exploring, I'll do it." Von Braun's daily journal entry for this day indicates his hope that Walt's visit "may easily result in a Disney picture about manned space flight."

1965 - The 7th Grammy Awards are held at the Beverly Hilton. Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Show goes to composers Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman for their work on Disney's Mary Poppins. (Best New Artist for 1964 is awarded to The Beatles.)

2001 - The Disney Channel Original Movie Hounded, featuring Tahj Mowry and Shia LaBeouf, debuts.

2002 - Lucky Disney World fans get an opportunity to see Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama!, the newest area of Animal Kingdom. The after-hours event features 17 limited edition pins and pin sets; a private dinner in DinoLand U.S.A.; access to the theme park's newest attractions, TriceraTop Spin and Primeval Whirl and a special performance of the "Tarzan Rocks" stage show. The special event, which runs from 7 to 10 p.m., is at a cost of $125 per person.

2002 - Soap opera fans get to meet their favorite stars from One Life to Live at Disney's California Adventure.

2004 - Animator Floyd Norman discusses his life in the animation industry through satirical sketches created during his illustrious career at Walt Disney Studio (as well as Hanna-Barbera, Pixar and Cartoon Network) at the Glendale Public Library in California. He also promotes his new book Son of Faster Cheaper, a humorous look at the cartoon business.

2004 - A tribute concert for composer Henry Mancini is held at the new Walt Disney Concert Hall. Hosting the celebration are Julie Andrews (of Disney's Mary Poppins) and Senator John Glenn (the third American in space). The late Henry Mancini wrote the music for Disney's 1986 animated feature The Great Mouse Detective.

2007 - The Disney Honors National Concert Band & Orchestra and Choral Invitationals (a non-competitive, non-ranked festival featuring premier high school concert bands, orchestras and choral ensembles in the United States) kicks off for 4 days at Disney World.

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