Winter Olympics Originally skating and ice hockey events took place as part of the Summer Games of 1908 and 1920, however the International Olympic Committee decided to hold a separate set of Games for popular cold weather sports.

1924, Chamonix Held in conjunction with Olympic Games in Paris, the Chamonix Winter Games were originally known as an "International Winter Sports Week," due to objections by Scandinavian countries that felt a Winter Olympics would detract from their Nordic Games. Clas Thunberg, a Finnish speed skater, dazzled the crowd with five medals, an achievement that was not equaled for 56 years.

1928, St. Moritz With the first Olympic Winter Games an enormous success, it was no surprise that the St. Moritz Games attracted an 84 percent increase in the number of participants. The star of these Olympics was Norwegian Sonja Henie, who as a 15-year-old, won the first of her three Olympic gold medals.

1932, Lake Placid The Lake Placid Games were looking to make history. During the opening ceremony, the flag of the British contingent was carried by a woman - a first. An U.S. team won the four-man bobsled, and team member Eddie Eagan became the first and only man to win both a Summer and Winter Olympic medal - Eagan had won the 1920 light-heavyweight boxing gold medal.

1936, Garmisch-Partenkirchen The IV Olympic Winter Games saw the introduction of alpine skiing. Sonja Henie won her third and final gold medal and in a shocking upset, Britain won the men's hockey competition - although it should be noted that the team was largely made up of Anglo-Canadians.

1940, Cancelled Sapporo, Japan, was selected host, bringing the Winter Games to the Asian continent and the far East for the first time. But the outbreak of World War II a year earlier dashed those plans. The Winter Games would not leave the European or North American continents for another 32 years with Sapporo hosting the XI Winter Games.

1944, Cancelled Scheduled to take place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the 1944 Games also were cancelled due to World War II.

1948, St. Moritz The Games returned to St. Moritz largely because Switzerland's neutrality during the war left it unscathed. Both Germany and Japan were barred from competing by the IOC as punishment for their actions during the war. In figure skating, 18-year-old American Dick Button won gold and in the process revolutionized the sport with his athletic jumping style.

1952, Oslo The Olympic Winter Games are finally hosted by a Scandinavian country, which until then had dominated the previous five Winter Games. In alpine skiing, 19-year-old American housewife Andrea Mead Lawrence dazzled crowds with her unexpected wins in the slalom and giant slalom.

1956, Cortina d'Ampezzo Originally scheduled to host the 1944 Games, Cortina finally got its chance. The Soviet Union, competing in its first Olympic Winter Games, was the major story. Soviets won seven of 24 events. Austrian skier Toni Sailer was a dominating force of his own, sweeping the downhill, slalom and giant slalom.

1960, Squaw Valley There was controversy due to the difficulty of the alpine and cross-country courses and the exclusion of bobsledding because it was too costly to build a run. In one of America's greatest Olympic moments, the lightly-regarded U.S. hockey team beat Canada, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia to win the gold medal.

1964, Innsbruck The unquestionable star of Innsbruck was Lydia Skoblikova. A double-gold medalist at Squaw Valley, the Soviet speed skater swept all four speed skating events to become the first person to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Winter Games.

1968, Grenoble These were the Olympics of Jean-Claude Killy. Killy wowed his home crowd and repeated the achievement of Toni Sailer, sweeping the alpine events. Franco Nones, an Italian, became the first non-Scandinavian to win a cross-country skiing race when he claimed gold in the 30 km.

1972, Sapporo Thirty-two years after it was supposed to host the Olympic Winter Games - canceled due to WWII - Sapporo got another chance. Japanese athletes took the chance to perform in front of their home crowds, and dazzled with a complete medal sweep of the 70-meter ski-jumping event.

1976, Innsbruck Originally the Games were to be held in Denver. However, soon after Denver was selected, citizen groups campaigned to cancel the Games due to environmental and economic concerns. Dorothy Hamill followed in the steps of Carol Heiss and Peggy Fleming to become the latest American "Queen of the Winter Games," as crowds fell in love with her on her way to a gold medal.

1980, Lake Placid Spectators saw two of the greatest moments in both American sports history and Winter Games history. Eric Heiden won all five men's speed skating events, an achievement never before accomplished and never again matched. In what has since been known as "The Miracle on Ice," the young U.S. hockey team defeated all the favorites, including the Soviets.

1984, Sarajevo Looking back on the Sarajevo Games, one can say that some of Yugoslavia's more heartwarming moments came during these Games. Instead of the bloodshed that haunted the country for much of the 1990s, the Sarajevo Games gave the people of Yugoslavia a chance to come together and celebrate in the Olympic spirit.

1988, Calgary After six unsuccessful attempts by Canada to host the Olympic Winter Games, including three bids by Calgary, the Games came to Canada. These Games were the biggest and longest ever. The event's real star was British ski jumper Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards. He finished last in both individual events, but his appearance and style were the talk of the Games.

1992, Albertville Germany competed as one nation for the first time since 1964. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania competed under their own flags and names for the first time in more than 50 years. Five former republics of the Soviet Union competed under the name of the Unified Team, using the flag and anthem of the Olympics.

1994, Lillehammer Leading up to the Games, public interest focused on the attack of American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, and the news that teammate Tonya Harding was involved. When all was said and done in ladies' figure skating, it was Ukrainian Oksana Baiul that won gold. Russian nordic skier Lyubov Egorova won three more golds and a silver to bring her total to a record-tying six golds.

1998, Nagano For only the second time in Olympic history the Winter Games are held in a continent other than Europe or North America. More than 2,300 athletes represented 72 countries, and for the second time Germany had the highest medal count of 29 - a feat typically dominated by the Soviet Union and Norway. The U.S. team won the first women's ice hockey gold medal.

2002, Salt Lake City The Olympic program expanded to 78 events, including the return of skeleton and introduction of women's bobsleigh. Athletes from a record 18 nations won gold medals. Vonetta Flowers (women's bobsleigh) became the first black athlete to earn winter gold, then ice hockey player Jarome Iginla followed as the first black male winner.

2006, Torino The XX Winter Games, taking place in Italy for the first time in 50 years, comprise seven different sports and 15 different disciplines, which will be played out in eight different competition sites. Around 2,600 athletes, 650 judges and umpires and one million spectators are expected to participate.

2010, Vancouver The XXI Winter Games return to Canada, which first hosted the Games in Calgary in 1988.