John Bardeen · Barack Obama Were John Bardeen and Barack Obama alive at the same time? Yes. John Bardeen and Barack Obama were alive at the same time for 29 years, from 1961 to 1991. John Bardeen was 53 when Barack Obama was born.Barack Obama was 29 when John Bardeen died, aged 82. John BardeenAmerican physicist and engineerBorn 23 May 1908 · died 30 January 1991, aged 82Barack Obama44th President of the United StatesBorn 4 August 1961 · living, 65 as of September 2026 Albert EinsteinAdolf HitlerJohn BardeenRonald ReaganNelson MandelaDonald TrumpVladimir PutinMichael JacksonBarack Obama John Bardeen 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.