Mickey Mouse

In 1928, after losing the rights to a character he had helped develop, Walt Disney had to come up with a new creation.

His wife, Lillian, recalled, "He was talking about different things, kittens and cats, this and that and the other. He kept talking about a mouse." Walt later said, "And then the name came.  had Mortimer first and my wife shook her head and then I tried Mickey and she shook her head the other way and that was it."