---
title: "Which came first, Apple or Python?"
description: "Apple vs Python: Apple came first, by 15 years — 1976 against 1991. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-python/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, Apple or Python?

**Which came first, Apple or Python?: Apple**

1976 — 15 years before Python

Apple came first, by 15 years. Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Company.

## Side by side

|  | Apple | Python |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 1976 | 1991 |
| Date | 1976-04-01 | 1991-02-20 |
| Category | company | technology |
| What happened | Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Company. | Guido van Rossum released version 0.9.0 publicly. |

## Apple

Apple was founded on 1 April 1976, a year and a day after Microsoft. Ronald Wayne, the third founder, sold his 10% stake back for $800 twelve days later. The Apple I was a bare circuit board sold for $666.66; the Apple II of 1977 was the machine that made the company.

## Python

Python was started as a hobby project over Christmas 1989 and first released publicly in February 1991 — four years before Java, JavaScript, PHP and Ruby, all of which arrived in 1995. Most people assume it is much newer because its popularity arrived twenty years after it did. It is named after Monty Python, not the snake.

## Common questions

### Which came first, Apple or Python?

Apple, by 15 years — 1976 against 1991.

### When did Apple start?

1976. Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Company.

### When did Python start?

1991. Guido van Rossum released version 0.9.0 publicly.

## Related pages

- [Microsoft or Python?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/microsoft-vs-python/)
- [Apple or Nintendo?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-nintendo/)
- [Apple or the Ford Motor Company?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-ford/)
- [Apple or Coca-Cola?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-coca-cola/)
- [Apple or LEGO?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-lego/)
- [Apple or Samsung?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-samsung/)
- [Apple or McDonald's?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-mcdonalds/)
- [Apple or Microsoft?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-microsoft/)
- [Apple or the internet (ARPANET)?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-arpanet/)
- [Apple or email?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-email/)
- [Apple or the Macintosh?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-macintosh/)
- [Apple or Windows?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-windows/)

## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]