Who Was Alive

Were J. M. Coetzee and Barack Obama alive at the same time?

Yes. J. M. Coetzee and Barack Obama were alive at the same time for 65 years, from 1961 to today.

J. M. Coetzee was 21 when Barack Obama was born.

J. M. Coetzee

South African and Australian writer and scholar

Born 9 February 1940 · living, 86 as of September 2026

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. J. M. Coetzee
  6. Donald Trump
  7. Vladimir Putin
  8. Michael Jackson
  9. Barack Obama
J. M. Coetzee 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.