According to my dictionary, "contemporary" means living at the same time. That is, if you are alive today, you are my contemporary. If you're not living today, stop reading now.

So I'm a contemporary of not just people who are living now, but all who were alive when I was born, but may not be alive anymore. It doesn't matter if I ever met them, I am still a contemporary. It's not easy working that word into a conversation.

But I guess I should be aware that I am a contemporary of Franklin Roosevelt, Flip Wilson,
Rosemary Clooney, Lee Petty, Werner von Braun, Henry Ford, Howard K. Smith, Alben Barkley, Steve McQueen, Roy Rogers, Frank Clement, Joe Dimaggio, Babe Ruth, Wilt Chamberlain, Adolph Rupp, Happy Chandler, Grocho Marx, Clyde Tombaugh, Tom Mix, Bing Crosby, Adolph Hitler, Winston Churchill, Clyde Barrow, Charles DeGaul, Chet Huntley, Cecil B. DeMille, Nat King Cole, Joe Louis, Alan Hale, Jr., Charles Lindburgh and Man O' War. Most of these are dead now and I admit to only having met five of them*, but they are still my contemporaries.
Howard
*Rosemary, Werner, Alan, Man O' War, and Frank Clement who was the governor of Tennessee many moons ago.