1822 - Rutherford B. Hayes, the nineteenth United States President, is born in Delaware, Ohio. Visit him and all the U.S. Chief Executives at Disney World's Hall of Presidents.

1924 - Actor Charlton Heston, the narrator of Disney's 1997 animated feature Hercules, is born in Evanston, Illinois. He also co-starred in the 1990 Disney Channel film The Little Kidnappers and appeared as himself on the 1986 TV special Walt Disney World's 15th Anniversary Celebration. (Renowned for playing historical figures, Heston's long list of credits include The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, and The Greatest Story Ever Told.)

1926 - The Alice Comedy Alice in the Wooly West is released.

1945 - Actor-songwriter Clifton Davis is born in Chicago, Illinois. His Disney credits include the 2001 feature Max Keeble's Big Move and the 1988 television special Walt Disney World 4th of July Spectacular. (Clifton wrote the hit "Never Can Say Goodbye" - recorded and made famous by The Jackson 5!)

1946 - Actress Susan Sarandon, the voice of the Spider in the 1996 James and the Giant Peach, is born in New York City. She also portrays Queen Narissa in the 2007 Disney live-action feature Enchanted.

1955 - The second episode of The Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Comedian Wally Boag (from Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue) appears on Guest Star Day. The 1953 cartoon Mickey's Kangaroo is also shown.

1957 - Actor Bill F agerbakke, the voice of Sven in the 2003 Atlantis: Milo's Return, and the voice of Mooch in the 2001 Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure, is born in Fontana, California. (Besides being the voice of Patrick on SpongeBob SquarePants, F agerbakke was part of the cast on the hit comedy series Coach.)

1975 - Imagineer Yale Gracey - who devised many of the illusions for the Haunted Mansion - retires after 36 years at Disney. He will continue to consult on special effects and lighting for attractions at Walt Disney World and EPCOT Center in Florida & later be named a Disney Legend.

1982 - Fortune magazine features a cover story on Florida's newest theme park - EPCOT Center. An article entitled Disney Gambles on Tomorrow, explains that "The success of Epcot is critical to Disney's future prosperity, for the fabled entertainment company has recently suffered unaccustomed reverses."

1987 - The Wonderful World of Disney airs part 1 of "The Journey of Natty Gann."

1993 - Disney World's Mission to Mars attraction, running since June 1975, closes in Tomorrowland. (It will be replaced in 1995 with ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter.)

1996 - That Thing You Do! starring, written and directed by Tom Hanks is released. The story of a fictional one-hit wonder 1960s rock band from Erie, Pennsylvania - the movie features scenes shot at Disneyland.

1998 - The animated series Rolie Polie Olie debuts on Disney Channel.

2000 - A new Disney Store (and the first of the new generation Disney Stores) is unveiled at the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California. Mickey and Minnie are on hand for the grand opening celebration.

2002 - The Disney Channel original movie The Scream Team airs.

2004 - Former astronaut Gordon Cooper (one of the original Mercury space travelers) passes away at age 77. He contributed as a consultant to the Imagineers creating Space Mountain back in the 1970s and later joined WED as a vice president of research and development in helping to plan EPCOT Center.

2005 - Composer-contemporary pianist Jim Brickman releases his album "The Disney Songbook" on Walt Disney Records.

2005 - Walt Disney's classic Cinderella is released on DVD for the first time ever on a 2-disc special edition. Also released is the Cinderella Special Edition Soundtrack featuring original classics from the film plus 2 new artist tracks (by Kimberley Locke and Wayne Brady).

2006 - The Spangler family from Randolph, Ohio spend the morning at Disney World as the Magic Kingdom's only guests! The family of four are the first big winners of Disney's "Year of a Million Dreams" celebration.

2007 - Disney's stage production The Lion King opens in France as Le Roi Lion, its first French-language production at Le Mogador Theatre in Paris.

2008 - Radio Disney launches a new feature - Next Big Thing - that lets young unsigned artists be heard on the network and have their songs voted on by listeners. Next Big Thing will feature new artists every two weeks over 22 weeks, with the winner announced March 30, 2009.

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