33 Pairs Of Icons Who Were Surprisingly Alive At The Same Time

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Celebrities, artists, and political leaders you'd never guess were on this Earth together.

Chaplin Cent Edison Shatner Bell White Einstein Oprah Wayne West

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1 of 34Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) and 50 Cent (1975-).

The actor and the rapper overlapped by two years.

Wikimedia Commons/Getty Images 2 of 34Thomas Edison (1847-1931) and William Shatner (1931-).

The man credited with inventing the lightbulb and Captain Kirk overlapped by just seven months.

Wikimedia Commons 3 of 34Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) and Betty White (1922-).

The inventor of the telephone and the actress overlapped by eight months, proving that Betty White is older than almost everything.

Wikimedia Commons 4 of 34Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and Opran Winfrey (1945-).

The theoretical genius and the television genius overlapped by a whole 10 years.

Wikimedia Commons/Getty Images 5 of 34John Wayne (1907-1979) and Kanye West (1977-).

The wild west cowboy actor and the rapper overlapped by two years.

Wikimedia Commons 6 of 34Pleasant Crump (1847-1951) and Robin Williams (1951-2014).

The oldest living veteran of the Civil War and the comedic actor overlapped by six months.

Wikimedia Commons/Getty Images 7 of 34Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) and Mariah Carey (1970-).

The two musicians overlapped by just six months.

Getty Images/Wikimedia Commons 8 of 34Orville Wright (1871-1948) and Neil Armstrong (1930-2012).

The first man to fly, and the first man on the moon overlapped by a whole 18 years.

Wikimedia Commons 9 of 34Jules Verne (1828-1905) and Dr. Suess (1904-1991).

The two celebrated writers overlapped by one year.

Getty Images/Wikimedia Commons 10 of 34Janis Joplin (1943-1970) and Jay Z (1969-).

The lady rocker and the hip-hop icon overlapped by one year.

Getty Images 11 of 34Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) and Louis Armstrong (1901-1971).

The activist and the musician overlapped by five years.

Wikimedia Commons/Getty Images 12 of 34Queen Victoria (1819-1901) and the Queen Mother (1900-2002).

The Queen Mother and her predecessor overlapped by one year.

Wikimedia Commons/Getty Images 13 of 34Lucille Ball (1911-1989) and Michael Cera (1988-).

The two comedians overlapped by one year.

Getty Images/Wikimedia Commons 14 of 34Jimmy Stewart (1908-1997) and Justin Bieber (1994-).

The actor and the teenybopper overlapped for three years.

Getty Images 15 of 34Al Capone (1899-1947) and Donald Trump (1946-).

The infamous gangster and the current U.S. president overlapped by one year.

Wikimedia Commons 16 of 34Winston Churchill (1874-1965) and Brad Pitt (1963-).

England's most famous Prime Minister and Angelina Jolie's most famous ex-husband overlapped by two years.

Wikimedia Commons/ Getty Images 17 of 34Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) and RuPaul (1960-).

The famous writer and the famous drag queen overlapped by one year.

Getty Images 18 of 34Helen Keller (1880-1968) and Shania Twain (1965-).

The disabled activist and country music's best-selling female artist overlapped by three whole years.

Wikimedia Commons 19 of 34Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) and Barack Obama (1961-).

POTUS 31 and POTUS 44 overlapped for three whole years.

Wikimedia Commons 20 of 34Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) and Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).

The leader of France and the leader of the United States overlapped for 12 whole years.

Wikimedia Commons 21 of 34Henry Ford (1863-1947) and Steven Spielberg (1946-).

The famed car developer and the famed movie developer overlapped by one year.

Wikimedia Commons/Getty Images 22 of 34Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) and Kate Hudson (1978-).

The macabre director and the rom-com actress overlapped by three years.

Getty Images 23 of 34Amelia Earhart (1897- 1939) and Julie Andrews (1935-).

The first woman to fly solo, and the beloved actress overlapped by four years — though it could have been two, as Earhart disappeared in 1937.

Getty Images 24 of 34Marie Curie (1867-1934) and Gene Wilder (1933-2016).

The woman responsible for the discovery of radium and the man responsible for bringing Willy Wonka to life overlapped by one year.

Wikimedia Commons 25 of 34Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959) and James Cameron (1954-).

Two of America's most famous directors overlapped by five years.

Getty Images 26 of 34Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) and Stan Lee (1922-).

The cowboy, famed for his part in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and the comic book editor overlapped by a whole seven years.

Wikimedia Commons/Getty Images 27 of 34Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) and Ben Kingsley (1943-).

The revered activist and the man who played him in the movie overlapped by just five years.

Wikimedia Commons 28 of 34Greta Garbo (1905-1990) and Taylor Swift (1989-).

The two blonde starlets overlapped by just four months.

Getty Images 29 of 34Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Gwyneth Paltrow (1972-).

The modern Spanish artist and GOOP overlapped by one year.

Getty Images 30 of 34Paul Revere (1735-1818) and Karl Marx (1818-1883).

The revolutionary hero and the political theorist overlapped for just five days in 1818.

Getty Images/Wikimedia Commons 31 of 34Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) and Walt Disney (1901-1966).

One of Russia's greatest writers and one of the world's greatest entrepreneurs overlapped by nine whole years.

Wikimedia Commons 32 of 34Lon Chaney (1883-1930) and Dick Van Dyke (1925-).

The two actors overlapped by five years.

Getty Images 33 of 34Tsar Nicholas ll (1868-1918) and Kirk Douglas (1916-).

The Russian emperor and the actor overlapped by two years. Also, we digress, there is apparently someone older than Betty White.

Getty Images 34 of 34Chaplin Cent Edison Shatner Bell White Einstein Oprah 33 Pairs Of Icons Who Were Surprisingly Alive At The Same Time View Gallery

So often it seems as though certain celebrities have been around forever. After all, look at Betty White, who has been around longer than we can all remember and is literally older than sliced bread. Then, there are others who seem perpetually young, when really they're over 50 (looking at you, Brad Pitt.)

So, naturally, it's easy to confuse which pairs of celebrities were actually alive at the same time.

And not just celebrities, but famous scientists, inventors, and writers as well. So many historic discoveries and breakthroughs took place so long ago, it can be easy to forget that the inventors and discoverers in question lived long after their respective claims to fame shook the world.

Take Madame Curie, for example. She discovered radium in 1898, but she lived for almost 30 years after that. And though Paul Revere is most famous for his midnight "one if by land, two if by sea" warning ride in 1775, he lived for another 45 years after that.

And it's not even just time, but also location that plays a part in our perception and memory of what happened when. While something huge might be happening in New York, something equally as fascinating might be happening at the same on the other side of the world, but because of the difference in location, it can seem like they happened years apart.

These kinds of misperceptions take root in all of our brains all the time, so the pairs of famous people who were alive at the same time in the gallery above are bound to shock you.

Next, allow this infographic to reveal other pairs of famous people that you wouldn't think were alive at the same time. Then, read up on some of the famous descendants of history's most important figures.

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