Karl Marx · Empress Dowager Cixi Were Karl Marx and Empress Dowager Cixi alive at the same time? Yes. Karl Marx and Empress Dowager Cixi were alive at the same time for 47 years, from 1835 to 1883. Karl Marx was 17 when Empress Dowager Cixi was born.Empress Dowager Cixi was 47 when Karl Marx died, aged 64. Karl MarxGerman-born philosopherBorn 5 May 1818 · died 14 March 1883, aged 64Empress Dowager CixiChinese empressBorn 29 November 1835 · died 15 November 1908, aged 72 NapoleonAbraham LincolnKarl MarxEmpress Dowager CixiMahatma GandhiVladimir LeninAlbert EinsteinAdolf Hitler Karl Marx and Empress Dowager Cixi 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.