Which came first? · Counterintuitive

Which came first: The Catcher in the Rye or Thomas the Tank Engine?

Thomas the Tank Engine came first, in 1946 (first appears). The Catcher in the Rye followed 5 years later, in 1951 (published).

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  1. Second1951

    The Catcher in the Rye

    book · published

    J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye came out in 1951.

    Checked against Wikipedia and Wikidata

  2. First1946

    Thomas the Tank Engine

    character · first appears

    Thomas the Tank Engine first appeared in a 1946 book by a clergyman, the Rev. W. Awdry.

    Checked against Wikipedia and Wikidata

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.