Mickey Mouse made his public debut on November 18, 1928 in the groundbreaking animated short Steamboat Willie.

In May 1928, Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse originally intended to be named "Mortimer Mouse" before Lillian Disney* suggested "Mickey".   In 1930, the Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip launched, expanding Mickey's popularity worldwide. In 1941, animator Fred Moore redesigned Mickey to give him a friendlier face, pupils and a pear-shaped body. In 1955, the original Mickey Mouse Club debuted on television and Disneyland opened in California making the park Mickey's official home. In 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his 50th birthday.

The Mickey Mouse star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard.

*Lillian Marie (Bounds) Disney was an American ink and paint artist and the wife of Walt Disney from 1925 until his death in 1966. They were married on July 13, 1925 in Idaho at her brother's home.  She wore a dress that she had made herself.  The couple had two daughters, Diane Marie Disney Miller (1933-2013) and Sharon Mae Disney Brown Lund (1936-1993).

Lillian Disney

Circa 1951

Lillian lived to be 98 and died on December 16, 1997. Born in Spalding, Idaho in 1899, Lillian graduated from high school then attended college. She left Idaho in 1923 to move to Southern California where she met future husband, Walt Disney while working as a secretary for his company. I think we can all agree and thank Lillian Disney for suggesting to Walt that he change the name of his iconic cartoon mouse character to .. Mickey!

Minnie

Circa 1928