Who Was Alive

Were Wisława Szymborska and Barack Obama alive at the same time?

Yes. Wisława Szymborska and Barack Obama were alive at the same time for 50 years, from 1961 to 2012.

Wisława Szymborska was 38 when Barack Obama was born.

Barack Obama was 50 when Wisława Szymborska died, aged 88.

Wisława Szymborska

Polish poet, Nobel Prize winner

Born 2 July 1923 · died 1 February 2012, aged 88

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. Wisława Szymborska
  6. Donald Trump
  7. Vladimir Putin
  8. Michael Jackson
  9. Barack Obama
Wisława Szymborska 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.