c. 551–479 BC
Confucius
5th-century BCE Chinese philosopher and politician
c. 72years, roughly
54%of the people on this site died younger
Confucius was born in about 551 BC and died in about 479 BC, so lived for roughly 72 years. Only the years are known, so treat this as a rough guide.
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Everyone here is ranked by days lived. These are the people just either side of Confucius.
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Slightly longer lives
- AshokaMauryan emperor from 268 to 232 BCE · c. 304–232 BCc. 72 yrs
- EpicurusAncient Greek philosopher · c. 342–270 BCc. 72 yrs
- BrahmaguptaIndian mathematician and astronomer · c. AD 598–670c. 72 yrs
- Amir KhusrauIndian poet, writer, singer and scholar · c. 1253–1325c. 72 yrs
Others who died at 72
- Louis PasteurFrench chemist and microbiologist · 1822–189572 yrs
- John LockeEnglish philosopher and physician · 1632–170472 yrs
- Dmitri MendeleevRussian chemist · 1834–190772 yrs
- AshokaMauryan emperor from 268 to 232 BCE · c. 304–232 BCc. 72 yrs
- Arthur SchopenhauerGerman philosopher · 1788–186072 yrs
- Isaac AsimovAmerican writer and biochemist · 1920–199272 yrs
- EpicurusAncient Greek philosopher · c. 342–270 BCc. 72 yrs
- Walt WhitmanAmerican poet, essayist and journalist · 1819–189272 yrs
Everyone famous who died at 72
Where this comes from
Dates are from Wikidata (free to use under CC0), last updated 22 October 2026. Only the years are known for this person, so the ages here are approximate. Dates in old records are sometimes disputed.
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