First Academy Awards (1929): The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929. It was a quiet affair compared to the glamor and glitz that accompany the ceremonies of today. Two hundred and fifty people attended the black-tie banquet that evening in the Blossom Room of Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Emil Jannings, the winner for best actor, had decided to go back to his home in Germany before the ceremony.

Before he left for his trip, Jannings was handed the very first Academy Award.

See full article: The History of the Academy Awards