The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) will next be held in Seoul, Korea from August 13th to 21st 2014. The ICM, currently hosted by the International Mathematical Union, has a history spanning a period of one hundred years and is traditionally held every four years. Felix Klein has often been credited with formulating the concept of the ICM, however George Cantor not only initially propagated the idea of forming a mathematical society in Germany, but also proposed organizing an international mathematical union. This study has endeavored to investigate the early period of development of the ICM. Specifically, this paper has studied the development of early 20th century mathematics through changes in the formulaic language of the ICM, the number of participants, the number of presentations, the nationality of plenary speakers, and the changes in sessions.