Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was born at 2156 North Tripp Avenue in Chicago, Illinois on December 5, 1901 to a Irish-Canadian descent father Elias Charles and a German-English mother Flora (nee Call) Disney. His father Elias, came to the California with his parents to find gold from Ontario, Canada in 1878 and later settled doing farming near Ellis Kansas.
In 1884 Elias met his future wife Flora Call in Acron, Florida which is located just 40 miles north of Lake Buena Vista where the Disney World theme parks are. The happy couple wed on New Years Day of 1888.
In 1890 they moved to Chicago, Illinois where Elias brother Robert lived. Robert was kind and assisted his brother financially several times. At the age of four in the year of 1906 the Elias Disney family moved to Marceline, Missouri where Walt obtained his love for drawing. For the next four years they stayed in Marceline where one of Walts older brother's, Roy, owned a farm.In November of 1910 the farm had to be sold and two of his other older brother's, Herbert and Ray ran away because they were tired of hard work and little pay. The remainder of the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri and Walt and his sister Ruth went to grammar school. In 1917, due to work they moved back to Chicago where Walt started high school where he drew cartoons for the school newspaper. Wanted to join the army he quit high school, however he was rejected for being under age. Later he had a friend that worked for the Red Cross where Walt obtained a position driving an ambulance in France.
After which in 1919 he moved back to Kansas City to start his artistic career doing several positions for other people and being self employed.
Eventually in 1923 Walt and his brother Roy put their money together and made a cartoon studio called "Alice Comedies" in Hollywood, California. This business ended up as "Disney Brother's Studios"
In 1925 Walt hired a woman, Lillian Bounds to do some ink art for the studio which shortly after he married. Walt and Lillian's first attempt at starting a family unfortunatley ended in a miscarriage. Happily on December 18, 1933 their daughter Diane Marie was born! Later they adopted another daughter Sharon Mae that was born on December 31, 1966. Diane grew up on marry Ron Miller and had seven children. Sharon also married, but to Robert Brown in 1959. Robert passed away in 1967 and Sharon remarried to William Lund two years later. After having 2 children during their 6 year marriage they divorced.
Soon he created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Mickey Mouse and other cartoon characters. Walt was even the voice of Mickey Mouse in the early cartoons. After he had a dream of making a theme park based on his wonderful and smart thoughts. On Sunday, July 17, 1955 Disneyland in Anaheim, California opened.
Walt was a very smart yet fun person. He was known as an american enterpeneur,cartoonist, animator, voice actor, film producer, theme park designer, family man and much more. Disneyland was and is a great theme park (never been to it, but heard) but in to small of an area. Therefore Walt dreamed of a theme park in a much larger area. He searched and planned for Disney World in Florida and announced the coming of it including a park within, "Magic Kingdom", a bigger version of Disneyland and "EPCOT"(Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow). Magic Kingdom opened on October 1, 1971 and EPCOT on October 1, 1992.
Walt unfortunatley smoked like a chimney, as they say, meaning he was a heavy smoker and he died of lung cancer on December 15, 1966 ten days after his 65th birthday this wonderful man with wise words, ideas and dreams passed away.at 9:30 AM at Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center in Palm Springs, California. Disney's remain's were cremated and his ashes are interred at Park Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calfornia.
