--- title: "Which came first, Google or the United States?" description: "Google vs the United States: the United States came first, by 222 years — 1776 against 1998. What happened in each case." url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/google-vs-united-states/ site: "At One Place" --- # Which came first, Google or the United States? **Which came first, Google or the United States?: the United States** 1776 — 222 years before Google the United States came first, by 222 years. The Declaration of Independence was adopted. ## Side by side | | Google | the United States | | --- | --- | --- | | Year | 1998 | 1776 | | Date | 1998-09-04 | 1776-07-04 | | Category | technology | country | | What happened | Google Inc. was incorporated in a garage in Menlo Park. | The Declaration of Independence was adopted. | ## Google The date used here is the incorporation, 4 September 1998. Two others compete: the research project called BackRub began at Stanford in 1996, and the google.com domain was registered on 15 September 1997. Google itself has celebrated its birthday on four different September dates over the years, which is a fair indication that no single one is correct. It is younger than Amazon, eBay and Netflix. ## the United States The date used here is the Declaration, 4 July 1776, which is the one people mean. Two others have equal claim: Britain recognised independence in 1783, and the Constitution took effect in 1789, so the current government is younger than the country by thirteen years. The United States is older as a state than Germany (1871), Italy (1861), Canada (1867) and modern Japan (1868). ## Common questions ### Which came first, Google or the United States? the United States, by 222 years — 1776 against 1998. ### When did Google start? 1998. Google Inc. was incorporated in a garage in Menlo Park. ### When did the United States start? 1776. The Declaration of Independence was adopted. ## Related pages - [sharks or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/sharks-vs-united-states/) - [Tyrannosaurus rex or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/t-rex-vs-united-states/) - [the Great Pyramid of Giza or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/great-pyramid-vs-united-states/) - [Germany or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/germany-vs-united-states/) - [Pakistan or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/pakistan-vs-united-states/) - [India or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/india-vs-united-states/) - [pizza or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/pizza-vs-united-states/) - [Nintendo or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/nintendo-vs-united-states/) - [Apple or Google?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-google/) - [the internet (ARPANET) or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/arpanet-vs-united-states/) - [the internet (ARPANET) or Google?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/arpanet-vs-google/) - [email or Google?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/email-vs-google/) ## Sources - Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/) - Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]