This Day in History: First Academy Awards Ceremony (Saturday, May 16)

This Day in History: First Academy Awards Ceremony May 16, 1929 The first awards ceremony was thought up by MGM mogul, Louis B.

Mayer.

Styled more as a dinner party than how we know the Oscars today, the event included about 250 people.

Before this first ceremony was conducted, the winners had already been announced.

The purpose of the ceremony was to honor the awardees and to present them with their Oscar statuettes.

'Wings' and 'Sunrise' were the first films to be awarded as the best films of the year.

Emil Jannings won the Best Actor award and Janet Gaynor won in the Best Actress category.