Walt Disney

Background

Walt Disney was an illustrator and entrepreneur born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1901. He was the son of Elias Disney, a Canadian of Irish descent, and Flora Dinsey, an American with German and English ancestry. He had three older brothers named Herbert, Raymond, and Roy, and a younger sister named Ruth. When he was four, his family moved to a farm in Marceline, Missouri. At the farm, young Disney found his passion for drawing. He used to draw horses and other animals that lived on his family’s farm. Four years later, his family moved to Kansas City, and before he entered high school, they moved again to the city of Chicago. The young artist attended art classes at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and became his high school’s paper cartoon animator. His love for illustration kept growing more and more.

When Disney turned 18, he worked as an illustrator at an advertising company. There, he met Ub Iwerks, a fellow animator, and cartoon artist. In 1920, Disney and Iwerks were laid off from their jobs. So Disney decided to start his own company. He started Laugh-O-Gram — an animation cartoon company — and hired some of his friends, among them Ub Iwerks. After a couple of years in the animation market, Laugh-O-Gram wasn’t doing really well. That was when Disney moved to Hollywood and opened the Disney Brothers Studio with his older brother Roy. Disney persuaded some of his former workers to also move to Los Angeles and join his new company.

At Disney Brothers Studio, Disney gave life to some of his most important creations — characters and films that would not only mark thousands of lives but would also open new doors to the animation world. Disney’s first big creation was the iconic character Mickey Mouse. Disney Brothers Studio had an incredible success; it became one of the most profitable companies in the world. In 1966, Disney died of lung cancer. His legacy stills live in all the films and characters he created and the millions of lives they were part of.