Today in History: July 17, Disneyland's opening day

Today in History for July 17 centers on Disneyland’s opening day, after a $17 million, yearlong build in Anaheim, California. The park opened on July 17, 1955, and drew one million visitors in its first 10 weeks, establishing an enduring benchmark for theme-park scale. The article also revisits other dated events: the U.S. approved the Second Confiscation Act in 1862 during the Civil War, freeing enslaved people who took refuge behind Union lines. It notes Willis Carrier’s early work on what became modern air conditioning in 1902. Other moments include the 1944 Port Chicago explosions, the 1981 Hyatt Regency Kansas City walkway collapse that killed 114, and the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800 that killed all 230.