No preceded by anything. the very first
I think you mean "preceded in death" which means "died before" .
'Do you mean 'Midst'? If so,the middle point, part, or stage (usually preceded bythe ): We arrivedin the midstof a storm.
Herbert Hoover preceded Franklin Roosevelt.
The iPhone 5 was preceded by the iPhone 4S.
PRECEDED means the president before the current president.SUCCEEDED means the president following after the president.
Elizabeth I was preceded by Mary I, her sister. Elizabeth II was preceded by George VI, her father.
John Tyler preceded Polk as US president.
Two preceded by seven is 72.
You would say "...is preceded..." if you note that fact at the person's time of death. "Was preceded" is how the obituary would be worded because it was written after the person's death. Both deaths would have happened in the past.
Preceded means something that came first. Such as--> "Her father died first preceding her mother by 2 years."
Neoclassicism preceded Romanticism.