import re


def first_item_grabber(the_str: str, re_separator_ptn=";|\-|&#8211;|,|\|", def_return=None):
    """
    From a string containing more than one item separated by separators, grab the first.

    >>> first_item_grabber("1987, A1899")
    '1987'

    >>> first_item_grabber("1987;A1899")
    '1987'

    >>> first_item_grabber("1916&#8211;1917[1915&#8211;1917]")
    '1916'

    """
    ret_val = re.split(re_separator_ptn, the_str)
    if ret_val != []:
        ret_val = ret_val[0]
    else:
        ret_val = def_return

    return ret_val