On July 29, 1921, Adolf Hitler became the leader of the National
Socialist German Workers’ (Nazi) Party. Under Hitler, the Nazi
Party grew into a mass movement and ruled Germany as a
totalitarian state from 1933 to 1945.

Hitler’s early years did not seem to predict his rise as a political
leader. Born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn, Austria, he
was a poor student and never graduated from high school.

During World War I, he joined a Bavarian regiment of the German
army and was considered a brave soldier, but his commanders
felt he lacked leadership potential and never promoted him beyond corporal.

While Porky’s Hare Hunt was the first Warner Bros. cartoon to
feature a prototype of Bugs Bunny, A Wild Hare, directed by
Tex Avery character designed by Bob Givensand released on
July 27, 1940, is widely considered to be the first official Bugs
Bunny cartoon. It is the first film where both Elmer Fudd and
Bugs, both redesigned by Bob Givens, are shown in their fully
developed forms as hunter and tormentor, respectively; the first
in which Mel Blanc (below) uses what became Bugs’ standard
voice; and the first in which Bugs uses his catchphrase, "What’s
up, Doc?" A Wild Hare was a huge success in theaters and
received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cartoon
Short Subject.

On July 24, 1998, the director Steven Spielberg’s World War II
epic, Saving Private Ryan, was released in theaters across the
U.S. The film, which starred Tom Hanks and Matt Damon, was
praised for its authentic portrayal of war and was nominated
for 11 Academy Awards. It took home five Oscars, for Best
Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing
and Best Sound Effects Editing.

The film’s lengthy opening scene was a bloody re-enactment of
American troops landing at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France,
on June 6, 1944.

Disneyland, Walt Disney’s metropolis of nostalgia, fantasy and
futurism, opened on July 17, 1955. The $17 million theme park
was built on 160 acres of former orange groves in Anaheim,
California, and soon brought in staggering profits. Today,
Disneyland hosts more than 18 million visitors a year, who
spend close to $3 billion.

Movie producer and animator Walt Disney sits in front of 
Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at the grand opening of Disneyland 
in 1955.

The Disneyland parking lot, full on opening day, July 17, 1955.

On July 15, 1903, the newly formed Ford Motor Company took its
first order from Chicago dentist Ernst Pfenning: an $850 two-
cylinder Model A automobile with a tonneau (or backseat). The
car, produced at Ford’s plant on Mack Street (now Mack Avenue)
in Detroit, was delivered to Dr. Pfenning just over a week later.

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947)