Who Was Alive

Were Samuel Beckett and Barack Obama alive at the same time?

Yes. Samuel Beckett and Barack Obama were alive at the same time for 28 years, from 1961 to 1989.

Samuel Beckett was 55 when Barack Obama was born.

Barack Obama was 28 when Samuel Beckett died, aged 83.

Samuel Beckett

Irish writer

Born 13 April 1906 · died 22 December 1989, aged 83

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. Samuel Beckett
  4. Ronald Reagan
  5. Nelson Mandela
  6. Donald Trump
  7. Vladimir Putin
  8. Michael Jackson
  9. Barack Obama
Samuel Beckett 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.