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Her life, year by year

From Saint Petersburg to New York. Each entry links to the public reference it can be checked against.

  1. 19052 February

    Born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

    Source

  2. 1917

    The Bolshevik Revolution. Her father's pharmacy is later confiscated.

    Source

  3. 1924

    Graduates from Petrograd State University.

    Source

  4. 1926

    Leaves the Soviet Union for the United States, adopts the name Ayn Rand and moves to Hollywood, where she works for Cecil B. DeMille.

    Source

  5. 1929

    Marries the actor Frank O'Connor.

    Source

  6. 1931

    Becomes a United States citizen.

    Source

  7. 1935

    Night of January 16th opens on Broadway.

    Night of January 16th Source

  8. 1936

    We the Living, her first novel, is published by Macmillan.

    We the Living Source

  9. 1938

    Anthem is published in England.

    Anthem Source

  10. 1943

    The Fountainhead is published by Bobbs-Merrill after twelve rejections.

    The Fountainhead Source

  11. 1949

    The Warner Bros. film of The Fountainhead, with Rand's screenplay, is released.

    The Fountainhead (film) Source

  12. 1951

    Moves from California to New York City.

    Source

  13. 1957

    Atlas Shrugged is published by Random House.

    Atlas Shrugged Source

  14. 1958

    Nathaniel Branden begins lectures on Objectivism, the start of what becomes the Nathaniel Branden Institute.

    Source

  15. 1961

    For the New Intellectual, her first nonfiction book.

    For the New Intellectual Source

  16. 1962

    The Objectivist Newsletter begins publication.

    Source

  17. 1964

    The Virtue of Selfishness.

    The Virtue of Selfishness Source

  18. 1966

    Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. The newsletter becomes The Objectivist.

    Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal Source

  19. 1968

    Breaks with Nathaniel and Barbara Branden; the Nathaniel Branden Institute closes.

    Source

  20. 1969

    The Romantic Manifesto.

    The Romantic Manifesto Source

  21. 1971

    The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution. The Ayn Rand Letter replaces The Objectivist.

    The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution Source

  22. 1979

    Frank O'Connor dies. Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology is published as a book.

    Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology Source

  23. 19826 March

    Dies in New York City, aged 77. Philosophy: Who Needs It is published later that year.

    Philosophy: Who Needs It Source

  24. 1985

    Leonard Peikoff, her legal heir, founds the Ayn Rand Institute.

    Source

  25. 1999

    The US Postal Service issues an Ayn Rand stamp in its Literary Arts series.

    Source