---
title: "Which came first, Facebook or Python?"
description: "Facebook vs Python: Python came first, by 13 years — 1991 against 2004. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/facebook-vs-python/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, Facebook or Python?

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

1991 — 13 years before Facebook

Python came first, by 13 years. Guido van Rossum released version 0.9.0 publicly.

## Side by side

|  | Facebook | Python |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 2004 | 1991 |
| Date | 2004-02-04 | 1991-02-20 |
| Category | technology | technology |
| What happened | TheFacebook launched for Harvard students only. | Guido van Rossum released version 0.9.0 publicly. |

## Facebook

Facebook launched on 4 February 2004 restricted to Harvard email addresses, opened to other universities through 2004 and 2005, and to anyone over 13 with an email address in September 2006. It is six years younger than Google and a year older than YouTube. Its predecessor Facemash, which compared students' photographs, was shut down by the university within days in 2003.

## 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, Facebook or Python?

Python, by 13 years — 1991 against 2004.

### When did Facebook start?

2004. TheFacebook launched for Harvard students only.

### When did Python start?

1991. Guido van Rossum released version 0.9.0 publicly.

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## Sources

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