1903 - Award-winning animator, director and Disney Legend Hamilton Luske is born in Illinois. He will go on to contribute to such Disney classics as Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Mary Poppins (for which he will win an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Visual Effects).

1923 - The Disney Brothers Studio is founded as a partnership when Walt and his older brother Roy sign a contract with M.J. Winkler (a New York cartoon distributor) to produce a series of animated short subjects entitled Alice Comedies. At this time, the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio is located on Kingswell Ave in Los Angeles, California. It is a garage (in the back of a realty office) that the brothers are renting - although eventually they will move into the building next door, taking over the whole first floor. On this day, Walt also pens a letter to the parents of actress Virginia Davis persuading them to move to Hollywood (from Kansas City) so that she can star in his new combination live-action and animated shorts.

1925 - Actress Angela Lansbury, the voice of Mrs. Potts in Disney's Beauty and The Beast, and the star of the live-action Bedknobs and Broomsticks (as Miss Price), is born in London, England.

1931 - Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon The Spider and the Fly, directed by Wilfred Jackson, is released.

1938 - Disney's first full-length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is released in Finland.

1953 - Disney's Peter Pan is released in Australia.

1959 - The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs episode 128 - "Killers of the High Country."

1960 - The TV series Walt Disney Presents kicks off its seventh season on ABC.

1973 - Walt Disney Productions celebrates its 50th anniversary!

1977 - Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist John Mayer is born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His version of the classic song "Route 66" appears on the 2006 soundtrack for the Disney/Pixar Cars.

1977 - Also born on this day - actress Amanda Tepe in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her Disney Channel credits include Wizards of Waverly Place, Cory in the House, and That's So Raven. (Fans of General Hospital will recognize her as Colleen McHenry.)

1984 - Actor Trevor Blumas, who appears in Disney's 2005 Ice Princess as Teddy Harwood, is born in London, Ontario, Canada.

1997 - The 27th annual Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Golf Classic tees off. (David Duval will go on to win.)

1998 - At the Disney Legends Ceremony and luncheon at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, two Disney "Alices" join the group. Virginia Davis, considered to be the first 'Disney Star,' hired by 21-year-old Walt Disney in Kansas City for his silent "Alice Comedies" and Kathryn Beaumont-Levine, whose voice and personality were essential parts of Disney's "Alice In Wonderland," are inducted. The new Disney Legends Plaza is also dedicated at The Walt Disney Studios to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the The Walt Disney Company!

2001 - Facing a drop in theme park visitors since the terrorist attacks in September, it is reported that Walt Disney World has postponed the opening of their new resort, Pop Century. The first phase of the resort had been scheduled to open in March.

2001 - Edward B. "Ted" Crowell of Orlando, Florida, an engineer who became vice president of facilities at Disney World during his 34-year career with the company, passes away at age 71. Crowell started as an engineer at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in 1958 and was credited with designing the "Q" lines; a compact way to snake visitors into rides and attractions. He also designed the E ticket, used to admit visitors to the hottest rides during the early years when Disney World visitors used coupon books to access park attractions.

2002 - Jamie-Lynn Sigler (of HBO's The Soprano's) debuts as the new star of Disney's Broadway show Beauty and the Beast.

2003 - The redesigned Disney exhibit at the Burbank Historical Society complex in California is unveiled. The display gives an historical account of the evolution of animation, with a major focus on Audio-Animatronics technology (which was introduced at Disneyland in 1963 in the Enchanted Tiki Room and Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln attractions).

2003 - The Walt Disney Company recognizes 11 honorees as 2003 Disney Legends at a ceremony held at Disney Legends Plaza on the studio lot in Burbank, California.

2003 - Leonard Shannon, one of Hollywood's top motion picture publicists and a 14-year veteran of Disney's publicity department, passes away at his home in Goleta, California. During his early days with Disney, Shannon helped to publicize the enormously popular Davy Crockett films for the Disneyland television series.

2004 - The Game of LIFE Pirates of the Caribbean is released.

2004 - The Wonderful World of Disney airs "Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers."

2006 - The music video for the Aly & AJ song "Greatest Time of Year" debuts after the premiere of the Disney Channel Original movie Twitches. The tune, from their Acoustic Hearts of Winter Christmas-themed album, is being used to promote the Disney feature The Santa Clause 3.

2007 - High School Musical on Tour, a new stage version of the hit Disney Channel movie, begins a series of performances at Auditorium Theatre in Rochester, New York.

2007 - Walt Disney Records releases A Disney Channel Holiday. The CD features performances by Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, The Cheetah Girls, Aly & AJ, and stars of High School Musical.

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