Walt Disney(1901 - 1966)
Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. Disney is the creator of the world-famous cartoon character, Mickey Mouse. The small animation company started in Hollywood, California by Disney and his brother Roy, has grow into one of the world's most powerful media conglomerates.
Besides Mickey Mouse, Disney created such cartoon characters as Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. Winner of a record 30 Academy Awards, he created the first full-length animated feature films, beginning with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1937, and including "Pinocchio" in 1938 and "Bambi" in 1942. He also made "true-life" adventure films including "Seal Island" in 1948 and "Davy Crockett" in 1955. He also produced the first color television series, "Disney's Wonderful World of Color" beginning in 1961.
In addition to animation and movies, Disney launched two amusement parks: Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida. Since his death in 1966 the Disney company has opened Disneyland Paris in France, and produced a new series of animated feature films. Just this year Disney purchased Capital Cities/ABC Television.