Which came first? · Tricky
Which came first: the gorilla or Newton's Principia?
Newton's Principia came first, in 1687 (published). The gorilla followed 160 years later, in 1847 (described).
- Second1847
The gorilla
animal · describedScientists only described the gorilla in 1847; its name comes from a word Hanno used for "wild men" in Africa.
- First1687
Newton's Principia
book · publishedNewton's Principia, with his laws of motion and gravity, was published in 1687.
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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.