Who Was Alive

Were Maya Angelou and Barack Obama alive at the same time?

Yes. Maya Angelou and Barack Obama were alive at the same time for 52 years, from 1961 to 2014.

Maya Angelou was 33 when Barack Obama was born.

Barack Obama was 52 when Maya Angelou died, aged 86.

Maya Angelou

American poet, author, and civil rights activist

Born 4 April 1928 · died 28 May 2014, aged 86

Barack Obama

44th President of the United States

Born 4 August 1961 · living, 65 as of September 2026

  1. Albert Einstein
  2. Adolf Hitler
  3. Ronald Reagan
  4. Nelson Mandela
  5. Maya Angelou
  6. Donald Trump
  7. Vladimir Putin
  8. Michael Jackson
  9. Barack Obama
Maya Angelou 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.