Which came first? · Counterintuitive
Which came first: the death of Michelangelo or the Vatican's Swiss Guard?
The Vatican's Swiss Guard came first, in 1506 (founded). The death of Michelangelo followed 58 years later, in 1564.
- Second1564
The death of Michelangelo
person · diesMichelangelo died in Rome in February 1564, aged 88; his poems to Cavalieri predate Shakespeare's sonnets by 50 years.
- First1506
The Vatican's Swiss Guard
institution · foundedThe Vatican's Swiss Guard was established in 1506, though it has been disbanded and reconstituted more than once since then.
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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.