The Birth of Mickey

Walt Disney alongside his iconic Mickey Mouse.

In 1928, Walt Disney, then an unknown animator, was forced to give up his relatively successful character of "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" following a contract dispute with Universal. It was this event that propelled Disney to create what has since become one of the most universally recognized images in the world, Mickey Mouse.

Originally named Mortimer, Mickey's first big hit was in "Steam Boat Willie," a black-and-white movie with Walt Disney providing the voice for the mouse.

The Walt Disney Company now enjoys yearly profits of approximately 35 billion dollars. However, this number seems unimportant in comparison to the impact that one man and his mouse had on generations of children.