Question: Who became a composer first, Jacques Offenbach or George Gershwin?

Context articles: Le docteur Miracle
Oscar Peterson Plays George Gershwin
Oscar Peterson Plays the George Gershwin Songbook
La Périchole
Mesdames de la Halle
Gaîté Parisienne
Jacques Offenbach
Le château à Toto
George Gershwin
Hershey Felder

Le docteur Miracle ("Doctor Miracle") is an opérette in one act by the French composer Georges Bizet.
 The libretto, by Léon Battu and Ludovic Halévy, is based on Sheridan's play "Saint Patrick's Day".
 Bizet wrote the work when he was just 18 years old for a competition organised by Jacques Offenbach.
 He shared first prize with Charles Lecocq.
 His reward was to have the piece performed 11 times at Offenbach's Bouffes-Parisiens theatre.
 The premiere took place on 9 April 1857 at Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens in Paris.
Oscar Peterson Plays George Gershwin is a 1952 album by pianist Oscar Peterson of popular songs written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin.
 Several tracks were included on the 1959 album "Oscar Peterson Plays the George Gershwin Songbook".
Oscar Peterson Plays the George Gershwin Songbook is a 1959 album by pianist Oscar Peterson of compositions written by George Gershwin.
 Peterson had recorded many of the pieces for his 1952 album "Oscar Peterson Plays George Gershwin".
La Périchole (] ) is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach.
 Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French-language libretto based on the 1829 one act play "Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement" by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived on 13 March 1850 at the Théâtre-Français.
 Offenbach was probably aware of this production, as he conducted the orchestra of the Comédie-Française from around this time.
 Another theatrical creation that pre-dates Offenbach's opéra bouffe and may have influenced the piece is a farce by Desforges and Théaulon given on 21 October 1835 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal.
Mesdames de la Halle is an opérette bouffe in one act by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Armand Lapointe.
 It was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, Paris on 3 March 1858.
 and was the first work of Offenbach's at the Bouffes with a chorus and a large cast.
 Gänzl describes the piece as “a delicious piece of Parisian bouffonerie”
Gaîté Parisienne (literally, "Parisian Gaiety") is a ballet choreographed by Léonide Massine to music by Jacques Offenbach orchestrated by Manuel Rosenthal in collaboration with Jacques Brindejonc-Offenbach, the composer's nephew.
 With a libretto and décor by Comte Étienne de Beaumont and costumes executed by Barbara Karinska, it was first presented by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at the Théâtre de Monte Carlo on 5 April 1938.
Jacques Offenbach (] ; ] ; 20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the romantic period.
 He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera "The Tales of Hoffmann".
 He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr. and Arthur Sullivan.
 His best-known works were continually revived during the 20th century, and many of his operettas continue to be staged in the 21st.
 "The Tales of Hoffman" remains part of the standard opera repertory.
Le château à Toto ("Toto’s castle") is an opéra bouffe in three acts of 1868 with music by Jacques Offenbach.
 The French libretto was by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy.
 It is situated in an important sequence of fifteen opera works and revivals by Offenbach between 1867 and 1869.
George Jacob Gershwin ( ; September 26, 1898 July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist.
 Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known.
 Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions "Rhapsody in Blue" (1924) and "An American in Paris" (1928) as well as the opera "Porgy and Bess" (1935).
Hershey Felder (born July 9, 1968) is a Canadian pianist, actor, playwright, composer, producer, and director.
 He created (as playwright, actor, and pianist) the role of American composer George Gershwin for the theatrical stage in the play "George Gershwin Alone", which was followed by the creation of the roles of Fryderyk Chopin, the Polish composer-pianist; Ludwig van Beethoven and Gerhard von Breuning in "Beethoven"; Leonard Bernstein in "Maestro Bernstein"; Franz Liszt in "Musik"; Irving Berlin in "Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin"; and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in "Our Great Tchaikovsky".
 "The Composer Sonata" comprises these works.