Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy was born in Tula, Russia in 1828 into an aristocratic family. He married Sophia Andreevna Behrs, 16 years his juinor in 1862. She had 13 children, 8 of whom survived. When he was in his 40's he went through several crisis which challenged him philosophically. He became a "fervent Christian anarchist and pacifist." His works influenced Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King. He lived a life of integrity and contradiction. He died in a train station managers bed after falling ill in 1910 at the age of 82. His works are still marvels of realist fiction.