Karl Marx · Rosa Luxemburg Were Karl Marx and Rosa Luxemburg alive at the same time? Yes. Karl Marx and Rosa Luxemburg were alive at the same time for 12 years, from 1871 to 1883. Karl Marx was 52 when Rosa Luxemburg was born.Rosa Luxemburg was 12 when Karl Marx died, aged 64. Karl MarxGerman-born philosopherBorn 5 May 1818 · died 14 March 1883, aged 64Rosa LuxemburgPolish-German Marxist revolutionaryBorn 5 March 1871 · died 15 January 1919, aged 47 NapoleonAbraham LincolnKarl MarxMahatma GandhiVladimir LeninRosa LuxemburgAlbert EinsteinAdolf HitlerRonald Reagan Karl Marx and Rosa Luxemburg 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.