How did the term 'Age Before Beauty' originate?

Answer 1

It is something that deals with etiquitte. Here is generally how it works when say you are on a bus or in a crowded room: Those who give up the seats to everyone basically are the young men. Those who are most offered the seats are the old women. Mothers with small children and old men are also offered seats, after the old women. Then young women. So the order for those who are offered seats the most (supposedly) is: old women, old men, mothers, women, and then men. Thus, they say "age befoe beauty" to let you know that it is more appropriate to offer an old man a seat than to offer a young woman a seat.
There might be other reasons out there, but in my travels to foreign countries, this is what it seems to be.
Of course, now the way things most often seem to be is the "first come, first served" scenario. Some people are generous with their seat offerings, especially the young men, but often they do it out of courtesy and don't know much more than that it is polite to offer seats to the ladies.

Answer 2

Long long ago in a faraway place where people respected the wisdom of older folk instead of trying to sweep them under the carpet.