Johannes Diderik van der Waals · Albert Einstein Were Johannes Diderik van der Waals and Albert Einstein alive at the same time? Yes. Johannes Diderik van der Waals and Albert Einstein were alive at the same time for 43 years, from 1879 to 1923. Johannes Diderik van der Waals was 41 when Albert Einstein was born.Albert Einstein was 43 when Johannes Diderik van der Waals died, aged 85. Johannes Diderik van der WaalsDutch physicistBorn 23 November 1837 · died 8 March 1923, aged 85Albert EinsteinGerman-born theoretical physicistBorn 14 March 1879 · died 18 April 1955, aged 76 Abraham LincolnKarl MarxJohannes Diderik van der WaalsAlbert EinsteinAdolf HitlerRonald ReaganDonald TrumpVladimir Putin Johannes Diderik van der Waals 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.