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Walt Disney
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Creator of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
How Walt Disney became an American icon
Steamboat Willie, 1928
Walt Disney History of Hollywood The Three Little Pigs Would you like a bedtime story, Donald? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Dumbo Bambi
For Students
Walt Disney summary
Quizzes
Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom, Disney World, Orlando, Florida, Florida tourism
Disney Quiz
Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).
Oscar-Worthy Movie Trivia
USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood
Pop Culture Quiz
Related Questions
Read Next
Oswald The Lucky Rabbit, 1935.
Walt Disney’s First Cartoon Critter Was Not Mickey Mouse
Bag end on Bagshot row from the movies Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit in Hobbiton, New Zealand, Australia
You Ought to Be in Pictures: 8 Filming Locations You Can Actually Visit
Tom Cruise as Maverick in Top Gun(1986) directed by Tony Scott.
Can You Guess the Movie by the Scene?
Discover
Calendar showing the month of February
Why Are There Only 28 Days in February?
The Colosseum, Rome, Italy. Giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. (ancient architecture; architectural ruins)
New Seven Wonders of the World
Orange basketball on black background and with low key lighting. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time
Frowning little girl. Angry annoyed
Is Body Language Universal?
Florence, Italy Statue of David by Michelangelo
How a Rejected Block of Marble Became the World’s Most Famous Statue
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.
10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci
Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

Legacy

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Also known as: Walter Elias Disney
Written by
Bosley Crowther
Creative consultant, Columbia Pictures, New York City, 1968–73. Screen critic and editor, The New York Times, 1940–68. Author of The Great Films: Fifty Golden Years of Motion Pictures.
Bosley Crowther
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: • Article History
Quick Facts
In full:
Walter Elias Disney
Born:
December 5, 1901, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died:
December 15, 1966, Burbank, California (aged 65)
Founder:
Disneyland
Walt Disney World Resort
On the Web:
University of Idaho Library - Walt Disney (Feb. 14, 2025)
See all related content

News •

'After Disney' tells company's journey after Walt Disney's death • Mar. 10, 2025, 6:24 AM ET (NBC)
Walt Disney
Walt DisneyWalt Disney with dolls of (clockwise from upper right) Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Pluto, and Donald Duck, mid-1950s.

Disney’s imagination and energy, his whimsical humor, and his gift for being attuned to the vagaries of popular taste inspired him to develop well-loved amusements for “children of all ages” throughout the world. Although some criticized his frequently saccharine subject matter and accused him of creating a virtual stylistic monopoly in American animation that discouraged experimentation, there is no denying his ground-breaking accomplishments. His achievement as a creator of entertainment for an almost unlimited public and as a highly ingenious merchandiser of his wares can rightly be compared to the most successful industrialists in history.

Bosley Crowther The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica