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[Stream HISTORY](https://play.history.com/) [Try](https://www.historyvault.com/?cmpid=HV_O_Site_H_CTA_TryHISTORYVault) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement  JAN25 JAN25 Choose another date OK January | | | | | | | | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | By: HISTORY.com Editors 1924 # First Winter Olympics [HISTORY.com Editors](https://www.history.com/authors/history)  Getty Images Published: July 21, 2010 Last Updated: January 16, 2026 On January 25, 1924, the first [Winter Olympics](https://www.history.com/topics/sports/winter-olympics-history) take off in style at [Chamonix](https://time.com/4993522/first-winter-olympics-1924-chamonix-france/) in the French Alps. Spectators were thrilled by the ski jump and bobsled as well as 12 other events involving a total of six sports. The “International Winter Sports Week,” as it was known, was a great success, and in 1928 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially designated the Winter Games, staged in St. Moritz, Switzerland, as the second Winter Olympics. Settings Quality Playback speed Quality Playback speed ## Flashback: The 1960 Winter Olympics Revisit the feats of athleticism at the VIII Olympic Winter Games, held in California's Squaw Valley in February, 1960. 5:09m watch Five years after the [birth of the modern Olympics](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-modern-olympic-games) in 1896, the first organized international competition involving winter sports was staged in Sweden. Called the Nordic Games, only Scandinavian countries competed. Like the Olympics, it was staged thereon every four years but always in Sweden. In 1908, [figure skating](https://www.history.com/news/famous-women-figure-skaters-olympics) made its way into the [Summer Olympics](https://www.history.com/topics/sports/modern-olympic-games-timeline) in London, though it was not actually held until October, some three months after the other events were over. In 1911, the IOC proposed the staging of a separate winter competition for the 1912 Stockholm Games, but Sweden, wanting to protect the popularity of the Nordic Games, declined. Germany planned a Winter Olympics to precede the 1916 Berlin Summer Games, but [World War I](https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i) forced the cancellation of both. At the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, ice hockey joined figure skating as an official Olympic event, and Canada took home the first of many hockey gold medals. Soon after, an agreement was reached with Scandinavians to stage the IOC-sanctioned International Winter Sports Week. It was so popular among the 16 participating nations that, in 1925, the IOC formally created the Winter Olympics, retroactively making Chamonix the first. In Chamonix, Scandinavians dominated the speed rinks and slopes, and Norway won the unofficial team competition with 17 medals. The United States came in third, winning its only gold medal with Charles Jewtraw’s victory in the 500-meter speed-skating event. Canada won another hockey gold, scoring 110 goals and allowing just three goals in five games. Of the nearly 300 athletes, only 13 were women, and they only competed in the figure-skating events. Austrian Helene Engelmann won the pairs competition with Alfred Berger, and Austrian Herma Planck Szabo won the women’s singles. The Olympics offered a particular boost to skiing, a sport that would make enormous strides within the next decade. At Chamonix, Norway won all but one of the nine skiing medals. Advertisement  Travel back to 776 B.C. to the world's first sports complex, Olympia--where every four years, Greek city-states set aside their differences and laid down arms to compete in peaceful games established to honor Zeus.  7-DAY FREE TRIAL Commercial-free, Cancel anytime [Stream Now](https://www.historyvault.com/) Exclusions & terms apply Timeline Also on This Day in History Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on January 25th [1759Scottish poet Robert Burns is born Scottish poet Robert Burns is born on January 25, 1759. The day is still celebrated by Burns fans across the English-speaking world, with high-spirited “Robert Burns Night” feasts, featuring haggis and other Scottish delicacies, as well as enthusiastic drinking, toasting and speechmaking. Burns, the son of a poor farmer, received little formal schooling but read \[…\] 1:04m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/robert-burns-birthday) [1776First national memorial is ordered by Congress On January 25, 1776, the Continental Congress authorizes the first national Revolutionary War memorial in honor of Brigadier General Richard Montgomery, who had been killed during an assault on Quebec on December 31, 1775. Montgomery, along with Benedict Arnold, led a two-pronged invasion of Canada in late 1775. Before joining Arnold at Quebec, Montgomery successfully \[…\]](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/first-national-memorial-is-ordered-by-congress) [1905World’s largest diamond found At the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa, the 1.33 pound, 3,106-carat diamond "Cullinan" is discovered during a routine inspection by the mine’s superintendent. It was the largest diamond ever found. 1:42m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/worlds-largest-diamond-found) [1916Montenegro capitulates to Austro-Hungarian forces After an eight-day offensive that marked the beginning of a new, aggressive strategy in the region, Austro-Hungarian troops under commander in chief Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf take control of the Balkan state of Montenegro, which surrendered on January 25. By the end of 1915, after initial setbacks, the Central Powers had completed their conquest of \[…\] 1:40m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/montenegro-capitulates-to-austro-hungarian-forces) [1919Formal commission is established on the League of Nations On January 25, 1919, in Paris, delegates to the peace conference formally approve the establishment of a commission on the League of Nations. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson insisted on chairing the commission—for him, the establishment of the League lay squarely at the center of the peace negotiations. He was supported by British Prime Minister David \[…\] 2:22m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/formal-commission-is-established-on-the-league-of-nations) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [1942Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom On January 25, 1942, Thailand, a Japanese puppet state, declares war on the Allies. When war broke out in Europe in September 1939, Thailand declared its neutrality, much to the distress of France and the U.K. Both European nations had colonies surrounding Thailand and hoped Thailand would support the Allied effort and prevent Japanese encroachment \[…\] 1:24m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/thailand-declares-war-on-the-united-states-and-england) [1949First Emmy Awards ceremony The first Emmy Awards ceremony is held on January 25, 1949 at the Hollywood Athletic Club. The awards recognize excellence in television (which in the 1940s was a novel medium). Hollywood’s first television academy had been founded three years earlier by Sid Cassyd, a former film editor for Frank Capra who later worked as a \[…\] 1:18m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/inaugural-emmy-awards-ceremony) [1961JFK becomes first president to hold live television news conference On January 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy becomes the first U.S. president to hold a live televised news conference. From a podium in the State Department auditorium, Kennedy read a prepared statement regarding the famine in the Congo, the release of two American aviators from Russian custody and impending negotiations for an atomic test \[…\] 1:26m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/jfk-first-live-tv-news-conference) [1968Israeli sub vanishes The Israeli submarine Dakar, carrying 69 sailors, disappears on January 25, 1968. It would remain missing for some 30 years. The Dakar was built at the height of World War II by H.M. Dockyard in Great Britain and commissioned as the HMS Totem by the British navy in 1943. Following the war, the submarine was \[…\] 1:42m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/israeli-sub-vanishes) [1971Charles Manson and his followers convicted of murder In Los Angeles, California, cult leader Charles Manson is convicted, along with followers Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten, and Patricia Krenwinkle, of the brutal 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others. In 1967, Manson, a lifetime criminal, was released from a federal penitentiary in Washington State and traveled to San Francisco, where he \[…\] 2:04m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/manson-and-followers-convicted) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [1980Paul McCartney is released from a Tokyo jail and deported from Japan Paul McCartney’s arrival at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport on January 16, 1980, marks his first visit to Japan since the Beatles tour of 1966. The occasion was a planned 11-city concert tour by his band Wings. Instead, Paul’s visit was limited to a nine-day stint in the Tokyo Narcotics Detention Center, which ended on January \[…\] 1:54m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/paul-mccartney-is-released-from-a-tokyo-jail-and-deported-from-japan) [1981Chairman Mao’s widow sentenced to death Jiang Qing, the widow of Chinese leader Mao Zedong, is sentenced to death for her “counter-revolutionary crimes” during the Cultural Revolution. Originally an actress in Communist theater and film, her marriage to Mao in 1939 was widely criticized, as his third wife, Ho Zizhen, was a celebrated veteran of the Long March who Mao had \[…\] 1:46m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/maos-widow-sentenced-to-death) [1995Russia activates its nuclear command systems for the first time On January 25, 1995, Russia’s early-warning defense radar detects an unexpected missile launch near Norway, and Russian military command estimates the missile to be just minutes from impact on Moscow. Moments later, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, his defense minister and his chief of staff are informed and the nuclear command systems switched to combat mode. \[…\] 1:16m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/near-launching-of-russian-nukes) [2005BTK killer sends message On January 25, 2005, a Wichita, Kansas, television station receives a postcard from the BTK killer that leads police to discover a Post Toasties cereal box that had been altered to contain the letters BTK. This communication was one in a long line sent by the serial killer who terrorized Wichita for over 30 years, \[…\] 2:10m read](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-25/btk-killer-sends-message) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ## Related [ Sports 22 videos](https://www.history.com/topics/sports/videos)  [Sports](https://www.history.com/topics/sports) [9 of the Most Valuable Baseball Cards in History](https://www.history.com/articles/most-valuable-baseball-cards) Cards of Hall of Famers Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle have sold for millions.  [Sports](https://www.history.com/topics/sports) [Why Football’s Last-Second Pass Is Called a 'Hail Mary'](https://www.history.com/articles/hail-mary-pass-origins-prayer-explanation) Here's how a prayer became part of the playbook.  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Five years after the [birth of the modern Olympics](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-modern-olympic-games) in 1896, the first organized international competition involving winter sports was staged in Sweden. Called the Nordic Games, only Scandinavian countries competed. Like the Olympics, it was staged thereon every four years but always in Sweden. In 1908, [figure skating](https://www.history.com/news/famous-women-figure-skaters-olympics) made its way into the [Summer Olympics](https://www.history.com/topics/sports/modern-olympic-games-timeline) in London, though it was not actually held until October, some three months after the other events were over. In 1911, the IOC proposed the staging of a separate winter competition for the 1912 Stockholm Games, but Sweden, wanting to protect the popularity of the Nordic Games, declined. Germany planned a Winter Olympics to precede the 1916 Berlin Summer Games, but [World War I](https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i) forced the cancellation of both. At the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, ice hockey joined figure skating as an official Olympic event, and Canada took home the first of many hockey gold medals. Soon after, an agreement was reached with Scandinavians to stage the IOC-sanctioned International Winter Sports Week. It was so popular among the 16 participating nations that, in 1925, the IOC formally created the Winter Olympics, retroactively making Chamonix the first.