Which came first? · Counterintuitive

Which came first: the death of Queen Victoria or X-rays?

X-rays came first, in 1895 (discovered). The death of Queen Victoria followed 6 years later, in 1901.

  1. Second1901

    The death of Queen Victoria

    person · dies

    Queen Victoria died in 1901 after reigning for more than 63 years.

    Checked against Wikipedia and Wikidata

  2. First1895

    X-rays

    discovery · discovered

    Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays in 1895; one of his first X-ray pictures showed his wife's hand.

    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.