Which came first? · Tricky
Which came first: Detroit or the birth of Thomas Edison?
Detroit came first, in 1701 (founded). The birth of Thomas Edison followed 146 years later, in 1847.
- First1701
Detroit
city · foundedDetroit was founded in 1701 as a French fort on the Detroit River.
- Second1847
The birth of Thomas Edison
person · bornThomas Edison was born in 1847 and ended up with more than 1,000 US patents.
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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.