Ice Skating was a from of transportation that was used in the Northern regions of Europe in the 1600's and the 1700's. People would attach steel blades to their shoes and use sleighs for a useful form for carrying objects from village to village. But the earliest accounts of ice skating were from an Englishman with the name Robert Jones. In 1772 he wrote A Treatise on Skating when it had become widely known as a sport around the area. Before, ice skating was only limited to the elite. For example, King Louis XVI of France and Napoleon were fans of the sport. The Song Dynasty and Qing Dynasties eventually dispersed the idea of the sport to Asia.
After, the book about basic moves in ice skating was written only for men. Women were forbidden to ice skating until the 19th century. 1952 was the first year where Englishwoman Madge Syers participated in a world championship and finished in second place. She had lost to Ulrich Salchow, the man that created the Salchow jump.
Yet, the American Jackson Haines is credited as founder of the sport. He was the first person to incorporate ballet and dance movements on the ice. His student, Louis Rubenstein, formalized governing associations for skating that ice skaters use today.
Other famous legends of ice skating are Axle Paulsen ( the creator of the axle jump) and Alois Lutz (creator of the Lutz jump). All of these people revolutionized ice skating to what it is today.