1910 - Publisher & Disney Legend Poul Brahe Pederson is born in Heidelberg, Germany. In 1954, he will join Disney licensee Gutenberghus Publishing (today called Egmont Group) in Copenhagen as its managing director of weekly publications.

1929 - Disney's third Silly Symphony cartoon Springtime is released. Directed by Ub Iwerks, it is the first of the Silly Symphony cartoons based on the 4 seasons.

1940 - Disney's Pinocchio is released in Australia.

1947 - In Washington, D.C., Walt Disney heads a list of "friendly" witnesses testifying to the first House Un-American Activities Committee investigation on Communist subversion in Hollywood, California.

1947 - Actor Kevin Kline, the voice of Captain Phoebus in Disney's 1996 release The Hunchback of Notre Dame, is born in St. Louis, Missouri.

1955 - The Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Fun With Music Day.

1956 - The Disneyland TV series aris episode 54 - "Behind the Cameras at Lapland / Alaskan Eskimo" on ABC.

1957 - Disney's third Zorro episode "Zorro Rides to the Mission" airs on ABC-TV.

1958 - The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs the episode "Rusty and the Falcon."

1965 - The Sentinel-Star runs the headline: WE SAY OUR 'MYSTERY' INDUSTRY IS DISNEY! (An unknown buyer has been purchasing large parcels of land in the Orlando, Florida area and rumours are spreading about who it might be.)

1971 - Disney World's Electrical Water Pageant debuts in the Seven Seas Lagoon for the dedication of the Polynesian Luau and the official grand opening celebrations of Disney's Contemporary and Polynesian Village Resorts. Athough opened to the public since October 1, Disney World debuts its very first fireworks display - Fantasy in the Sky Spectacular - on this evening.

1982 - EPCOT Center (Disney's third theme park) is officially dedicated by Disney Chairman E. Cardon Walker 23 days after the park's grand debut.

1983 - Adrienne Bailon, a member of Disney's The Cheetah Girls, is born in New York.

1994 - The animated series Gargoyles airs for the first time. Created and produced by Greg Weisman, it is hailed as one of the more ambitious Disney animated series in history. Known for its complex and dramatic stories, Gargoyles is targeted at an older demographic.

1997 - The Orlando Sentinel runs an article over the controversy raging in Florida about Disney World closing the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride attraction. Actors Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst, stars of The Wonderful World of Disney's upcoming "Tower of Terror," come out strongly pro-Toad while Darius Rucker, lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish, makes it clear that he's a Pooh man.

1998 - The third annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival begins in Florida.

2001 - The Walt Disney Company completes its acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide, Inc. from Haim Saban and Fox Broadcasting Company. The acquisition closes on this day with a final purchase price of $5.2 billion, including approximately $2.9 billion in cash and the assumption of $2.3 billion in Fox Family obligations. (The Fox Family channel will be turned into the ABC Family channel.)

2001 - John R. "Jack" Shively Sr., one of the original builders of Walt Disney World, passes away at age 71. Starting in 1969, Shively carved designs into the theme park's walls, put up fences and helped construct many attractions. He retired in 1992.

2001 - NYSNC's Lance Bass and Joey Fatone visit Disney World to lead the new "Share a Dream Come True" parade at the Magic Kingdom and to star as grand marshals in the new "Disney Stars and Motor Cars" parade at the Disney-MGM Studios.

2002 - It is reported that Disney's Monsters, Inc. has sold 13 million units worth $250 million on DVD and VHS internationally.

2003 - Disney's animated Brother Bear (featuring 5 new songs by Phil Collins) premieres at the El Capitan Theater.

2005 - As a result of Hurricane Wilma, all 4 Disney World theme parks, 2 water parks, resort amenities (Downtown Disney, the golf courses) and Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground are closed for the morning. All theme parks (except Disney's Animal Kingdom and the Disney-MGM Studios) and Downtown Disney are re-opened at 1:00pm.

2005 - After two years of testing and development, the first version of Club Penguin (an online game developed by New Horizon Interactive) is made available to the general publice. Using cartoon penguins as avatars, players waddle around, chat, play minigames and participate in other activities with one another in a snow-covered virtual world. Disney will buy Club Penguin in August 2007.

2006 - Walt Disney Records releases The Hannah Montana Soundtrack - from Disney Channel's hit original series. (It will shatter industry records as the first-ever TV soundtrack to enter the Billboard Top 200 at No 1!) Disney also unveils The Nightmare Before Christmas 2-Disc Special Edition Soundtrack in celebration of the 13th anniversary of Tim Burton's cult classic animated feature.

2006 - The stage show, Sister Act the Musical (based on the motion picture and licensed by Disney) opens at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. The show features the music of Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.

2007 - Disney announces that it will contribute $2 million in aid towards relief efforts for the nearly one million victims of the ongoing Southern California wildfires.

2008 - Pixie Hollow, a new meet & greet featuring Tinker Bell and her fairy friends, debuts at the Magic Kingdom's Mickey's Toontown Fair (at Disney World). (Tinker Bell, a brand new movie, will be released 4 days later on DVD.)

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