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.

At 9:32 a.m. EDT, Apollo 11, the first U.S. lunar landing mission,
was launched on a historic journey to the surface of the moon.

After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into
a lunar orbit on July 19.

From left: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, the Apollo 11 crew.

William Hart, better known to his loyal fans as "Poogie",  the
lead singer and co-founder of the Philly soul group The Delfonics,
has died. He was 77.

According to multiple reports, Hart died Thursday at a hospital
in Philadelphia following complications from surgery.

Hart was initially taken to hospital after experiencing difficulties
with his breathing.

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)

On July 15, 1988, Die Hard, an action film starring Bruce Willis as wisecracking New York City cop John McClane, opened in theaters
across the U.S.  A huge box-office hit, the film established Willis
as a movie star and spawned three sequels. Die Hard also became Hollywood shorthand for describing the plot of other actions films,
as in “Speed is Die Hard on a bus.”

Walter Bruce Willis turned 67 in March.

On March 30, 2022, Willis’s family announced that
he was retiring as he had been diagnosed with
aphasia, a disorder caused by damage to the area
of the brain that controls language expression and
comprehension.