Who Was Alive

Were William Shockley and Barack Obama alive at the same time?

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

William Shockley was 51 when Barack Obama was born.

Barack Obama was 28 when William Shockley died, aged 79.

William Shockley

American physicist and inventor

Born 13 February 1910 · died 12 August 1989, aged 79

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