Which of the three Brontë novelist sisters was born first?

Of the three Brontë novelist sisters, Charlotte Brontë was born first, on 21 April 1816.

Charlotte was followed by Emily Brontë, born on 30 July 1818, and Anne Brontë, born on 17 January 1820. All three were born in Thornton, Yorkshire, before the family moved to Haworth, where their literary lives became closely associated with the Haworth Parsonage.

The sisters published poetry together in 1846 under the pseudonyms Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. Charlotte became best known for Jane Eyre, Emily for Wuthering Heights, and Anne for Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

The answer can be confused because Charlotte had two older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, who were also Brontë children. They were born before Charlotte but died young and did not become novelist sisters. Among the three surviving Brontë women who wrote novels, Charlotte is the eldest.