I have just bought a snowboard on impulse but I know nothing about the sport.  This should be interesting
Snowboarding is so much fun!  The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding
When did snowboarding get started? 
Snowboarding was developed in USA in the 1960's
Are there any popular snowboarders I should know about while I am trying to learn the sport?
I would suggest Shawn White, another random fact is that snowboarding became an olympic sport in 1998 
Isn't snowboarding also a major event in the X-Games?
been in a decline since.
History.
Modern snowboarding began in 1965 when Sherman Poppen, an engineer in Muskegon, Michigan, invented a toy for his daughters by fastening two skis together and attaching a rope to one end so he would have some control as they stood on the board and glided downhill. Dubbed the "snurfer" (combining snow and surfer) by his wife Nancy, the toy proved so popular among his daughters' friends that Poppen licensed the idea to a manufacturer, Brunswick Corporation, that sold
a skateboarder and dealing with it is way harder. I used to play a lot of video games and skate the local indoor park. But you get bored of skating the same old park every day for like nine months. I tried snowboarding a couple of time; it was pretty fun. My homie's dad owned a house in the hills and I would get to go kick it there sometimes and snowboard.
Professional skateboarding.
Marnell was initially sponsored by Menace Skateboards and Axion Footwear, before signing with Nike SB