Wilhelm Ostwald · Albert Einstein Were Wilhelm Ostwald and Albert Einstein alive at the same time? Yes. Wilhelm Ostwald and Albert Einstein were alive at the same time for 53 years, from 1879 to 1932. Wilhelm Ostwald was 25 when Albert Einstein was born.Albert Einstein was 53 when Wilhelm Ostwald died, aged 78. Wilhelm OstwaldBaltic German chemistBorn 2 September 1853 · died 4 April 1932, aged 78Albert EinsteinGerman-born theoretical physicistBorn 14 March 1879 · died 18 April 1955, aged 76 Abraham LincolnKarl MarxWilhelm OstwaldAlbert EinsteinAdolf HitlerRonald ReaganDonald TrumpVladimir Putin Wilhelm Ostwald and Albert Einstein 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.