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?
Yeah it is , another random fact is that its popularity was measured by equipment sales and peaked in 2007