| 
landmarks
This chronology is indicative only. It covers -
Context is provided by the broader communications and
media timeline on this site.
antecedents
1901
Walter Elias Disney born in Chicago
1918 Walt forges parents' signatures, and enlists in American
Ambulance Corps
1919 Walt and Ubbe Iwwerks (later Ubbe Iwerks) form Iwerks-Disney
Commercial Artists
1928 Iwerks modifies Disney's "Oswald The Lucky Rabbit"
character, turning him into Mickey Mouse.
beginnings
1928
first silent film featuring the Mouse premieres on Sunset
Boulevard
1928 "Steamboat Willie" is first cartoon designed for
use with a soundtrack
1930 The first Mickey Mouse comic strip is published,
in New York Mirror
1930 Disney buys Iwerks' 20% share of company for US$2,920
1934 Three Little Pigs wins Academy Award
1937 Disney's first full-length animated feature film
Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs premieres at
cost of US$1.5 million
1940 Pinocchio premieres at Central Theatre in
New York
going public
1940
Walt Disney Productions goes public after debt reaches
US$4.5 m
1941 Fantasia opens in Chicago
1941 Disney animators stage a strike with strong industry
and community support
1945 Roy Disney becomes company president
1946 Disney announces planned layoffs of over 400 employees
of a staff of 1000
1948 with US$4 million debt, Disney accepts US$1 m interest-free
loan from Howard Hughes
1949 The Walt Disney Music Company formed
1950 first Disney TV special One Hour in Wonderland
airs on NBC
1950 Treasure Island
1952 Walt Disney forms Walt Disney Incorporated, to develop
ideas for a "family park" to be called Disneyland
1952 WED Enterprises founded
1953 Disney establishes Buena Vista Distribution Company
as Disney's film distributor
1953 Peter Pan
bailout by ABC
1954
Disney and ABC sign agreement about
building of Disneylandia. ABC invests US$500 000 in cash,
guarantees all WED bank loans and gets 35% ownership of
Disneylandia (with all profits from park's food concessions
for 10 years
1954 first Disneyland TV show debuts on ABC network
1955 Disneyland opens in Anaheim, and has 1 million visitors
within 6 months
1955 Mickey Mouse Club, Disney's second TV show
is launched
1956 The "Bathroom of Tomorrow" attraction opens in Disneyland
1957 Zorro
1960 Disney buys ABC's one-third interest in Disneyland
for $7.5 m and pay off all loans
1964 Disney features at New York World's Fair
the golden age?
1964
first death in Disneyland and premiere of Mary Poppins
1965 Disney buys rights to A.A. Milne's Winnie the
Pooh
1966 Walt Disney dies of lung cancer and J Edgar Hoover
orders name removed from list of FBI's informants
1969 The Love Bug
1971 Walt Disney World in Orlando opens
1971 Roy Disney dies
1971 100 millionth visitor to Disneyland
1983
Tokyo Disneyland opens
1983
Disney Channel
conglomerate
1984 recurrent takeover bids amid claims that group is
underperforming
1984 first Touchstone Pictures release
1984
Eisner and Wells become Chairman and President
1984 Steve Jobs acquires Pixar from director George Lucas
for US$10m
1986
Walt Disney Productions renamed The Walt Disney Company
1986 Capital Cities Communications buys American Broadcasting
network for US$3.5 billion to create Capital Cities-ABC
1986
500 millionth theme park visitor
1987
first Disney Store opens
1990
Hollywood Records founded
1990
first Hollywood Pictures release
1992
Disneyland Paris opens
1993 buys Miramax
for US$80m
1994
Beauty & the Beast stage shows opens on Broadway
1994
The Lion King
1994 Disney Interactive formed
1995
Pocahontas
engulfs ABC
1995
takeover of Capital Cities/ABC for
US$19 billion
1995
Disney Online, Disney's internet division
1996 Disney.com launched
1996 buys 25% and management control of California Angels
(later renamed Anaheim Angels) major league baseball team
1996
Radio Disney launched on ABC Radio Networks
1997 sells Chilton Business Group (39 trade magazines)
to Elsevier for US$447m
1997
The Lion King stage production opens
1997 sells Kansas City Star, Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Belleville News-Democrat and Wilkes-Barre Times
Leader to Knight Ridder
1998 buys 43% in Infoseek web portal
1999 buys remaining equity in Anaheim Angels from family
of 'singing cowboy' Gene Autry for US$140m, spends US$100m
on Edison Field stadium
2001 pays US$40m for 50% stake in Wenner Media's Us
Weekly
2001 buys founded Baby Einstein company from Julie Aigner-Clark
for US$25m
2001 buys Fox Family Worldwide from Murdoch
and Saban for US$5.3bn
2003 sells Anaheim Angels for US$180m to billboard czar
Moreno
2004 Comcast makes unsuccessful
US$54bn hostile takeover bid
2004 Disney sells 313 stores in US to retail chain Children's
Place
2006 Disney announces US$7.4bn takeover of Pixar
2006 announces plan to spin off radio operations into
Citadel
2006 buys Indian children's cable and satellite TV channel
Hungama (launched 2004) for £16.5m
2006 pays £7.5m for 14.9% stake in Indian media
group UTV Software Communications
2006 sells stake in Us Weekly to Wenner Media
for US$300m
2007 agrees to pay US$40m for NY
Times' radio station WQEW
2007 ESPN buys Cricinfo from Mark Getty
2007 pays US$350m for virtual community Club Penguin
::
|
