c. AD 48–121
Cai Lun
Chinese official credited with inventing paper
c. 73years, roughly
56%of the people on this site died younger
Cai Lun was born in about AD 48 and died in about AD 121, so lived for roughly 73 years. Only the years are known, so treat this as a rough guide.
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Who lived about as long
Everyone here is ranked by days lived. These are the people just either side of Cai Lun.
Slightly shorter lives
- CorneliusPope Saint · c. AD 180–253c. 73 yrs
- Nizami GanjaviPersian poet · c. 1141–1214c. 73 yrs
- ZacharyPope · c. AD 679–752c. 73 yrs
- Ignatius of AntiochLate 1st/early 2nd century Christian author and Patriarch of Antioch · c. AD 35–108c. 73 yrs
Slightly longer lives
- Gavrila DerzhavinRussian poet · 1743–181673 yrs
- Hermann von HelmholtzGerman physicist and physiologist · 1821–189473 yrs
- Giacomo CasanovaVenetian adventurer and writer · 1725–179873 yrs
- Nicholas RoerichRussian painter, writer, archaeologist and philosopher · 1874–194773 yrs
Others who died at 73
- Charles DarwinEnglish naturalist and biologist · 1809–188273 yrs
- Erwin SchrödingerAustrian physicist · 1887–196173 yrs
- Federico FelliniItalian filmmaker · 1920–199373 yrs
- James MonroePresident of the United States from 1817 to 1825 · 1758–183173 yrs
- William Butler YeatsIrish poet and playwright · 1865–193973 yrs
- Jean de La FontaineFrench poet, fabulist and writer · 1621–169573 yrs
- Alexander FlemingScottish biologist, pharmacologist, botanist, and Nobel laureate · 1881–195573 yrs
- Antoni GaudíCatalan architect · 1852–192673 yrs
Everyone famous who died at 73
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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