Who Was Alive

Were Chinua Achebe and Barack Obama alive at the same time?

Yes. Chinua Achebe and Barack Obama were alive at the same time for 51 years, from 1961 to 2013.

Chinua Achebe was 30 when Barack Obama was born.

Barack Obama was 51 when Chinua Achebe died, aged 82.

Chinua Achebe

Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic

Born 16 November 1930 · died 21 March 2013, aged 82

Barack Obama

44th President of the United States

Born 4 August 1961 · living, 65 as of September 2026

  1. Albert Einstein
  2. Adolf Hitler
  3. Ronald Reagan
  4. Nelson Mandela
  5. Chinua Achebe
  6. Donald Trump
  7. Vladimir Putin
  8. Michael Jackson
  9. Barack Obama
Chinua Achebe and Barack Obama in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries. Drag across to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.