Gustave Flaubert · Vladimir Lenin Were Gustave Flaubert and Vladimir Lenin alive at the same time? Yes. Gustave Flaubert and Vladimir Lenin were alive at the same time for 10 years, from 1870 to 1880. Gustave Flaubert was 48 when Vladimir Lenin was born.Vladimir Lenin was 10 when Gustave Flaubert died, aged 58. Gustave FlaubertFrench novelistBorn 12 December 1821 · died 8 May 1880, aged 58Vladimir LeninFounding leader of the Soviet UnionBorn 22 April 1870 · died 21 January 1924, aged 53 Abraham LincolnKarl MarxGustave FlaubertMahatma GandhiVladimir LeninAlbert EinsteinAdolf HitlerRonald ReaganNelson Mandela Gustave Flaubert and Vladimir Lenin 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.