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Book: The Book of Mouse: A Celebration of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse by Jim Korkis
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Authors: Jim Korkis
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acting on behalf of the League. Because of all this publicity, a letter dated June 28, 1935, was sent from J.D. de Montenach’s assistant at the League of Nations in Geneva to H.R. Cunnings in the League of Nations’ London office, in an attempt to explain that C.I.D.A.L.C. was not connected to the League of Nations in any way, and that this confusion had existed for years.
However, no official public correction was ever made, and the error continued to appear in magazine stories, books, and elsewhere for decades.
On November 17, 1988, the United Nations and UNICEF did honor Mickey on his 60th birthday as an Emissary of Goodwill in recognition “of the joy he has brought to the children around the world.” The ceremony was held in the Economic and Social Chamber.
Mickey Mouse Code Word for D-Day Invasion
Since the 1940s, one of the most frequently quoted “fun facts” about Mickey Mouse is that his name was used as the code word for the launch of the Allied Invasion of Normandy (D-Day) on June 6, 1944.
No one, however, could find any documented confirmation either in the personal files of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the U.S. military archives, or the Disney Archives. For several decades, it troubled Disney researchers as a story simply too good to be true.
Then, Disney historian Michael Barrier uncovered a press release from the United Press dated June 8, 1944, from London, that clarifies where the story originated. The press release states:
Mickey Mouse played a part in the invasion of northern France, it was revealed today. Naval officers gathering for invasion briefing at a southern port approached the sentry at the door and furtively whispered into his ear the password of admission: “Mickey Mouse”.
“Mickey Mouse” was the password for the officers to enter a meeting where they would receive orders for the invasion. It was not the name that launched the actual invasion. Recognition passwords used at U.S. military sentry points often were based on information or names considered uniquely American, such as baseball facts and cartoon characters.
Creation of Mickey Mouse
As mentioned, the story of Walt Disney being inspired by a real mouse during his days as a young artist in Kansas City to create the character of Mickey Mouse on a train trip from New York to Los Angeles has become mythology. However, modern research has debunked the specifics of the legend while maintaining that Walt may have done some rough sketches on the train and may have considered a mouse as a replacement for Oswald the Rabbit.
Here are some of the variations of the legend that Walt shared with reporters in the earliest years of Mickey Mouse’s popularity.
From W.T. Maxwell Daily Sketch (1938):
While riding in the upper berth of the train taking Walt from New York to Hollywood, Walt heard the continuous but slight creaking of the woodwork in his compartment that sounded like a million mice in conference. The idea made him laugh and in that split second Mickey Mouse was born.
Walt later told another interviewer that the repeating rhythm of the sound of the wheels and the sound of the extended whistle slowly blowing on the train seemed to sound like the word “mouse” over and over. Neither of these stories is true but rather examples of Walt’s inventive storytelling.
From Photoplay magazine (June 1932):
Legend has it that [Walt] Disney, broke and discouraged, was sitting on a park bench wondering where the next coffee and cakes were coming from. He laughed at the funny antics of a mouse scurrying about a nearby trash can. “If that critter made me laugh,” reasoned Walt, “he might do the same for the world!” And he certainly has!
This account tosses in another odd, untrue story about the creation of Mickey Mouse that appears nowhere else.
From the Athens, Georgia, Banner Herald (December 26, 1933):
It was Disney’s brother’s daughter, aged six, who was chiefly responsible for “Mickey”… Six years ago Disney had a
However, no official public correction was ever made, and the error continued to appear in magazine stories, books, and elsewhere for decades.
On November 17, 1988, the United Nations and UNICEF did honor Mickey on his 60th birthday as an Emissary of Goodwill in recognition “of the joy he has brought to the children around the world.” The ceremony was held in the Economic and Social Chamber.
Mickey Mouse Code Word for D-Day Invasion
Since the 1940s, one of the most frequently quoted “fun facts” about Mickey Mouse is that his name was used as the code word for the launch of the Allied Invasion of Normandy (D-Day) on June 6, 1944.
No one, however, could find any documented confirmation either in the personal files of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the U.S. military archives, or the Disney Archives. For several decades, it troubled Disney researchers as a story simply too good to be true.
Then, Disney historian Michael Barrier uncovered a press release from the United Press dated June 8, 1944, from London, that clarifies where the story originated. The press release states:
Mickey Mouse played a part in the invasion of northern France, it was revealed today. Naval officers gathering for invasion briefing at a southern port approached the sentry at the door and furtively whispered into his ear the password of admission: “Mickey Mouse”.
“Mickey Mouse” was the password for the officers to enter a meeting where they would receive orders for the invasion. It was not the name that launched the actual invasion. Recognition passwords used at U.S. military sentry points often were based on information or names considered uniquely American, such as baseball facts and cartoon characters.
Creation of Mickey Mouse
As mentioned, the story of Walt Disney being inspired by a real mouse during his days as a young artist in Kansas City to create the character of Mickey Mouse on a train trip from New York to Los Angeles has become mythology. However, modern research has debunked the specifics of the legend while maintaining that Walt may have done some rough sketches on the train and may have considered a mouse as a replacement for Oswald the Rabbit.
Here are some of the variations of the legend that Walt shared with reporters in the earliest years of Mickey Mouse’s popularity.
From W.T. Maxwell Daily Sketch (1938):
While riding in the upper berth of the train taking Walt from New York to Hollywood, Walt heard the continuous but slight creaking of the woodwork in his compartment that sounded like a million mice in conference. The idea made him laugh and in that split second Mickey Mouse was born.
Walt later told another interviewer that the repeating rhythm of the sound of the wheels and the sound of the extended whistle slowly blowing on the train seemed to sound like the word “mouse” over and over. Neither of these stories is true but rather examples of Walt’s inventive storytelling.
From Photoplay magazine (June 1932):
Legend has it that [Walt] Disney, broke and discouraged, was sitting on a park bench wondering where the next coffee and cakes were coming from. He laughed at the funny antics of a mouse scurrying about a nearby trash can. “If that critter made me laugh,” reasoned Walt, “he might do the same for the world!” And he certainly has!
This account tosses in another odd, untrue story about the creation of Mickey Mouse that appears nowhere else.
From the Athens, Georgia, Banner Herald (December 26, 1933):
It was Disney’s brother’s daughter, aged six, who was chiefly responsible for “Mickey”… Six years ago Disney had a
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