9SeptemberVintages2026
The Fontainebleau Almanac· A local story every dayWednesday 9 September
It happened on 9 September
The day before he died, he asked for his papers to be burnt.
On 9 September 1898, Stéphane Mallarmé died in Valvins, in the house on the banks of the Seine where he had spent his summers for the past twenty-four years. His wife and daughter did not obey him. The house is still there, in Vulaines-sur-Seine: It is reopening free of charge on 19 and 20 September.
Elsewhere in the world
9 September 1776. The Continental Congress replaced «United Colonies» with «United States of America». The country had existed for two months. It still needed a name.
Points of interest
He is leaving just as he had legislated. Charles Auguste Lefebvre was born on 9 September 1821 and died on 9 September 1912 in Avon. A mayor and later a Member of Parliament, he co-authored the 1887 Act granting everyone the right to choose their own funeral arrangements, including cremation. He asked to be cremated.
And Molière missed the boat. He creates The Miser at the Palais-Royal on 9 September 1668. His extended stays at Fontainebleau were in 1661 and 1664. Four years too early for Harpagon.