Who Was Alive

Were Miriam Makeba and Barack Obama alive at the same time?

Yes. Miriam Makeba and Barack Obama were alive at the same time for 47 years, from 1961 to 2008.

Miriam Makeba was 29 when Barack Obama was born.

Barack Obama was 47 when Miriam Makeba died, aged 76.

Miriam Makeba

South African singer and civil rights activist

Born 4 March 1932 · died 9–10 November 2008, aged 76

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. Miriam Makeba
  6. Donald Trump
  7. Vladimir Putin
  8. Michael Jackson
  9. Barack Obama
Miriam Makeba 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.