Which came first? · Counterintuitive
Which came first: the Battle of Waterloo or the smallpox vaccine?
The smallpox vaccine came first, in 1798 (published). The Battle of Waterloo followed 17 years later, in 1815 (fought).
- Second1815
The Battle of Waterloo
event · foughtNapoleon was finally defeated at Waterloo in June 1815.
- First1798
The smallpox vaccine
medicine · publishedEdward Jenner published his smallpox vaccine in 1798; "vaccine" comes from the Latin word for cow.
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All which-came-first pairs · About Older Than You Think · Quiz games
Years from Wikidata, each checked against the item’s English Wikipedia article on 2026-10-18. A year stands for what its label says: a founding, a first patent, a premiere.