Karl Marx · Rudyard Kipling Were Karl Marx and Rudyard Kipling alive at the same time? Yes. Karl Marx and Rudyard Kipling were alive at the same time for 17 years, from 1865 to 1883. Karl Marx was 47 when Rudyard Kipling was born.Rudyard Kipling was 17 when Karl Marx died, aged 64. Karl MarxGerman-born philosopherBorn 5 May 1818 · died 14 March 1883, aged 64Rudyard KiplingEnglish writer and poetBorn 30 December 1865 · died 18 January 1936, aged 70 NapoleonAbraham LincolnKarl MarxRudyard KiplingMahatma GandhiVladimir LeninAlbert EinsteinAdolf HitlerRonald Reagan Karl Marx and Rudyard Kipling 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.