September 9: The day America named its capital after its first president

On September 9, 1791, the three commissioners overseeing construction of the United States capital officially named the city Washington, in honor of President George Washington. The federal district was called Columbia, a poetic name then used for the United States and derived from Columbus.

Washington, D.C., was planned as a new city. In 1791, Washington commissioned Pierre Charles L’Enfant, a French-born military engineer and artist, to design the capital. Congress held its first session there on November 17, 1800.

The date also marks the birth of Leo Tolstoy in Tula in 1828. The Russian writer became known for works including “War and Peace,” “Anna Karenina” and “Resurrection.” His early books included the semi-autobiographical trilogy “Childhood,” “Boyhood” and “Youth,” as well as “Sevastopol Sketches,” based on his experiences during the Crimean War.

In the 1870s, Tolstoy underwent a deep moral crisis and spiritual transformation. He later supported pacifism, Christian anarchism and nonviolent resistance, ideas that influenced figures including Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. He was nominated several times for the Nobel prizes in literature and peace but never received one. The article also recalls Romanian actress Agatha Bârsescu, born in Bucharest on September 9, 1857, who performed at major European and American theaters.