1938–2025
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Kenyan writer
87years old at death
31,920days lived
87%of the people on this site died younger
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o was born on 5 January 1938 and died on 28 May 2025, aged 87 years and 143 days. That is 31,920 days in all.
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Who lived about as long
Everyone here is ranked by days lived. These are the people just either side of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o.
Slightly shorter lives
- Coco ChanelFrench fashion designer · 1883–197187 yrs
- Martin BuberGerman Jewish Existentialist philosopher and theologian · 1878–196587 yrs
- Burton RichterAmerican physicist · 1931–201887 yrs
- Giuseppe VerdiItalian opera composer · 1813–190187 yrs
Slightly longer lives
- Jonathan WintersAmerican comedian, actor, artist · 1925–201387 yrs
- Chiang Kai-shekChinese politician, military leader, and President of the ROC · 1887–197587 yrs
- Little RichardAmerican musician · 1932–202087 yrs
- Claudia CardinaleItalian actress · 1938–202587 yrs
Others who died at 87
- Margaret ThatcherPrime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 · 1925–201387 yrs
- Gabriel García MárquezColombian writer and Nobel laureate · 1927–201487 yrs
- Mother TeresaAlbanian-Indian Catholic nun and missionary · 1910–199787 yrs
- Giuseppe VerdiItalian opera composer · 1813–190187 yrs
- Helen KellerAmerican deafblind author, political activist, lecturer, scholar · 1880–196887 yrs
- HirohitoEmperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989 · 1901–198987 yrs
- Chiang Kai-shekChinese politician, military leader, and President of the ROC · 1887–197587 yrs
- Günter GrassGerman novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, and sculptor · 1927–201587 yrs
Everyone famous who died at 87
Also born on 5 January
- Umberto EcoItalian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist · 1932–201684 yrs
- Konrad AdenauerGerman politician, Chancellor of West Germany (1949–1963), Zentrum and CDU · 1876–196791 yrs
- Rudolf Christoph Eucken(1846-1926) German philosopher · 1846–192680 yrs
- Diane KeatonAmerican actress and film director · 1946–202579 yrs
- Zulfikar Ali Bhutto4th President and 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan · 1928–197951 yrs
- Friedrich DürrenmattSwiss author and dramatist · 1921–199069 yrs
Famous people born on 5 January
Where this comes from
Dates are from Wikidata (free to use under CC0), last updated 22 October 2026. Dates in old records are sometimes disputed.
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