According to the Gregorian calendar, on what date was Leo Tolstoy born?

According to the Gregorian calendar, Leo Tolstoy was born on 9 September 1828. He was born into the Russian aristocracy at Yasnaya Polyana, the family estate near Tula that remained closely associated with him throughout his life.

Historical sources may show the date as 28 August 1828 because the Russian Empire used the Julian calendar at the time. The Julian date corresponds to 9 September in the Gregorian calendar, which is now the standard civil calendar used internationally. This calendar difference explains why biographies sometimes appear to give two different birth dates.

Tolstoy was the fourth of five children born to Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy and Princess Mariya Volkonskaya. His mother died before he was two, and his father died when he was nine, so relatives helped raise the children. Tolstoy later became one of Russia’s most influential novelists, writing War and Peace and Anna Karenina.

His exact birth date is distinct from the year of his birth, a fact often listed separately in reference works. Tolstoy died in 1910 at Astapovo railway station after leaving his family home.