Leo Tolstoy was born on 28 August 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana. A Russian writer, Tolstoy was born into a noble family on the estate of Yasnaya Polyana and served in the army in the Crimean War before turning to literature. His epic novel War and Peace, set during the Napoleonic invasion of Russia, and Anna Karenina, a story of love and society, are considered among the greatest novels. After a spiritual crisis in the late 1870s he developed a Christian philosophy that rejected violence, property and the authority of the state and the Church, and which influenced Gandhi and Martin Luther King. He died at a railway station after leaving home.
Before and after
- 16 April 1828Death of Francisco Goya
- 8 May 1828Birth of Henry Dunant
- from 20 May 1828 to 22 September 1829Gran Colombia–Peru War
- from August 1828 to August 1833Morea expedition
- 28 August 1828Birth of Leo Tolstoy
- 19 November 1828Death of Franz Schubert
- 1829Founding of King's College London
- 1829Publication of Himnusz
- 14 September 1829Treaty of Adrianople
More in Art, literature & culture
- from 18th century to 19th centuryRomanticism
- 1830Publication of Book of Mormon
- 1890Rise of Art Nouveau
- c. 1900sRise of Expressionism
- 1909Rise of Futurism
- c. 1910sRise of Dada
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.