|
|
Ayn Rand was a brilliant novelist and philosopher. She was born Alissa Rosenbaum on February 2, 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia. From an early age, she displayed an interest in literature and films. She started writing screenplays and novels at the age of seven. . At the age of 21 Rand graduated from the University of Petrograd in History. In 1926, Rand moved to the United States, and took her surname from the typewriter she used, a Remington-Rand. Rand started to study English, working as a junior screenwriter and movie extra for Hollywood between the years 1926 and 1932.
Rand wrote screenplays for Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1934-35, she was a free-lance script reader for RKO Pictures, then for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In Hollywood she also met Frank O'Connor, an actor, whom she married. Rand's first novel, "We The Living" appeared in 1936. Her breakthrough work came with the courtroom play "Night of The January 16th", where the audience was asked to determine the verdict. While collecting material for "The Fountainhead", Rand worked without pay as a typist for Eli Jacques Kahn, and architect in New York City. With Hal Wallis Productions Rand had a special contract, which committed her to work only six months of each year. During the other six months she pursued her own writing.
In Hollywood Rand worked until 1949, when she became a full-time writer and lecturer. She was a visiting lecturer at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (1960), Princeton University, New Jersey (1960), Columbia University, New York (1960, 1962), University of Wisconsin (1961), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (1961), Harvard University, Cambridge (1962), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge (1962).
Ayn Rand philosophy "Objectivism" is based on the premise that reality is an objective absolute. One must perceive and understand reality to survive. One's highest value should be one's ability to reason. This also manifested in the way Rand viewed her own life, not through feelings but through her interest in ideas and her thinking. Rand's Objectivist philosophy was very popular among college students. They were attracted by her instructions to heed one's self-interest, and to maximize the superman potential without social conscience. Rand published her manifestoes in The Objectivist Newsletter in the early 1960s.
Ayn Rand's more famous novels include the following:
Atlas Shrugged
The Fountainhead
Anthem
We The Living
Ayn Rand died on March 6, 1982, leaving behind the legacy of her brilliant work.
