Steamboat Willie

Historical eventJanuary 12024

Steamboat Willie

Disney's copyright protection on Steamboat Willie and the original Mickey Mouse expires as they enter the public domain.

Everything on January 1Original source

In context

When
Monday, January 1 20242 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
21st century · 2020s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 2024.

Type: animated short film.

What came before

Part of: National Film Registry.

Background Mickey Mouse was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit , an earlier character created by Disney for Winkler Pictures but owned at the time by Universal Pictures . [ 1 ] The first two Mickey Mouse films produced, silent versions of Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho , had failed to gain a distributor . According to Roy O. Disney , Walt Disney was inspired to create a sound cartoon to greatly increase its appeal, after watching The Jazz Singer (1927). [ 2 ]

What happened

Disney's copyright protection on Steamboat Willie and the original Mickey Mouse expires as they enter the public domain.

January 1 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 20132013 Houphouët-Boigny stampede
  2. 2015Eurasian Economic Union
  3. 2017Istanbul nightclub shooting
  4. 2019NASA
  5. 2023Croatia
  6. 2024Republic of Artsakh
  7. 20242024 Noto earthquake
  8. 2024Steamboat Willie
  9. 20252025 New Orleans truck attack
  10. 20262026 Crans-Montana bar fire
  11. 2026Bulgaria

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Everything we record for 2024 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Steamboat Willie”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/steamboat-willie-2024-january-1, accessed October 25, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Steamboat Willie happen?

January 1 2024 — 2 years ago, on a Monday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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