Walter "Walt" Elias Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 5, 1901. His interest in art began at a young
age. Walt was selling his pictures when he was seven years old. To pursue his interest in art and turn it into
a career, Walt attended McKinley High School in Chicago to study art and photography.
In 1918, Walt joined the Red Cross because he was too young to join the military and fight in World War I. While
in France, Walt decorated his Red Cross ambulance with original cartoons.
After the war, Walt Disney returned to the United States and started a company called Laugh-O-Grams, but
this was not to last. Walt went bankrupt and decided to go to Hollywood to look for a job. His business didn't start
out large. It was a small office at the back of a real estate building. Orders were pouring in very soon, so when
Walt created Mickey Mouse, his company took off and became the major corporation we know as Walt Disney Industries.
