Happy 113th Birthday, Walt Disney!

Today, we celebrate Walt Disney’s 113th birthday today.

According to Just Disney, Walter Elias Disney was born December 5, 1901 to father Elias and mother Flora Call Disney. He was one of five children — four boys and a girl — the fourth born of the five children. Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois, but the family soon moved to Marceling, Missouri, where he spent the majority of his childhood.

Disney showed his propensity for drawing at the age of 7, selling portraits of animals and nature to neighbors. A few years later, Disney would gain a job on the local Santa Fe railroad selling newspapers, popcorn, and soda. His uncle, Mike Martin, an engineer working the route from Marceling to Fort Madison, Iowa, helped Disney get the job.

Disney attended McKinley High School in Chicago, where he spent his time working on his drawing and photography while working on the school newspaper. Disney soon began attending the Academy of Fine Arts to perfect his drawing.

During his years in Marceline, Disney gained an affinity for nature and wildlife. Soon, the family was on the move again, this time to Kansas City. but Disney’s affinity for nature would be a landmark throughout Disney’s career.

Mid-Day.com reports that one of the many reasons Disney focused on wildlife and nature was that, as a young boy, he carelessly killed an owl. He then used his pen to portray the beauty of nature.

Disney spent 1917 in France during the first World War at age 16 for the Red Cross driving an ambulance, covered in Disney’s drawings. This led to Disney’s first effort, The Alice Chronicles, about a real girl in an animated world. Disney was turned down time and again. Disney relocated to California in 1923, where his older brother Roy was already living. Together, they set up a design company, but still struggled to sell. Finally, a New York company ordered the first Alice featurette, Alice In Cartoonland. Disney was well on his way. He was just 22.

Disney continued to create characters, one of which was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, which drew minimal interest. It was in 1928 that Disney came up with a mouse that everyone would love. On November 18, 1928, Mortimer Mouse was created, but his wife, Lillian, did not like the name. Mortimer would then become a rival for Minnie Mouse’s affections for the renamed, and Disney mainstay, Mickey Mouse.

Disney went on to break standards in the entertainment industry. Disney produced Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, the first ever animated musical, at a cost of almost $1.5 million. The movie was a huge hit. Overall, Walt Disney won 22 Academy awards from a total of 59 nominations.

Disney was a chain smoker, who was keenly aware not to smoke in front of children. Unfortunately, Disney died on December 15, 1966 from complications from lung cancer. Disney received his last Academy Award, posthumously, for Winnie-the-Pooh and the Blustery Day.

[Image courtesy of Vulture.com]