Adolf Hitler · John Updike Were Adolf Hitler and John Updike alive at the same time? Yes. Adolf Hitler and John Updike were alive at the same time for 13 years, from 1932 to 1945. Adolf Hitler was 42 when John Updike was born.John Updike was 13 when Adolf Hitler died, aged 56. Adolf HitlerDictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945Born 20 April 1889 · died 30 April 1945, aged 56John UpdikeAmerican novelist, poetBorn 18 March 1932 · died 27 January 2009, aged 76 Mahatma GandhiVladimir LeninAlbert EinsteinAdolf HitlerRonald ReaganNelson MandelaJohn UpdikeDonald TrumpMichael JacksonBarack Obama Adolf Hitler and John Updike 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.