Ernest Rutherford · Albert Einstein Were Ernest Rutherford and Albert Einstein alive at the same time? Yes. Ernest Rutherford and Albert Einstein were alive at the same time for 58 years, from 1879 to 1937. Ernest Rutherford was 7 when Albert Einstein was born.Albert Einstein was 58 when Ernest Rutherford died, aged 66. Ernest RutherfordNew Zealand physicistBorn 30 August 1871 · died 19 October 1937, aged 66Albert EinsteinGerman-born theoretical physicistBorn 14 March 1879 · died 18 April 1955, aged 76 Karl MarxVladimir LeninErnest RutherfordAlbert EinsteinAdolf HitlerRonald ReaganDonald TrumpVladimir Putin Ernest Rutherford and Albert Einstein 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.