1. Ayn Rand (her first name rhymes with “mine”) February 2, 1905 – March 6, 1982

2. It begins in Russia
Ayn is born Alisa Rosenbaum in St. Petersburg, Russia to Anna & Zinovy Rosenbaum on Feb. 2, 1905

3. Sisters Natasha, Nora, Alisa
Home Life
Sisters Natasha, Nora, Alisa
Anna Rosenbaum, mom
Alisa and her dad
Alisa’s father is a pharmacist who owns his shop
Her mother trained to be a dentist
She is the eldest of three girls
She is very curious and learns to read at age 6.
She decided she’d be a writer at age 9
Alisa at three

4. Then….
In 1917, she witnesses the opening shots of the Bolshevik Revolution. She sees her father’s business being taken over by soldiers.
Her father becomes fearful of events happening. He worries for his family’s safety and takes them to Yevpatoria, Crimea – 1300 miles away from St. Petersburg. Crimea is now part of the Ukraine.

5. 1306 miles from St. Petersburg, Russia to Crimea
Traveled from here
to here
1306 miles from St. Petersburg, Russia to Crimea

6. Alisa’s adolesence She attended and finished high school in Crimea.
While there, she became very interested in United States history. It fascinated her that the US was a nation where people were allowed to live freely. This was different than the Utopian ideal that the Russian government was trying to promote at the time.

7. Family moves back
The Rosenbaums moved back to St. Petersburg. Alisa continued her schooling at the University of Petrograd. She studied Philosophy and History, graduating in 1924.
She studied screenwriting as a career at the State Institute of Cinema Arts.
She was very interested in watching films from America and with Western ideas/ culture.

8. Let the writing begin….
Pola Negri
1925 – first published piece about Polish born actress Pola Negri.
1926 – wrote a booklet entitled, “Hollywood: American Movie City”. It is published in Russia.
“Hollywood: American Movie City”

9. Freedom!
Alisa’s passport picture, 1925
granted permission from the Soviet authorities to leave the country to visit relatives.
Leaves Russia, never to return
Arrives in New York in 1926
Does visit relatives in Chicago
Makes her way to Hollywood to be a screenwriter

10. HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD
Day 2 in Hollywood: Meets famous director Cecil B. DeMille and gets a job working in the studios
Changes her name to Ayn Rand
Cecil B. DeMille

11. What’s in a name?…… Alisa Rosenbaum = Ayn Rand. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
In 1937, a fan wrote to Ayn about her name. Her response was: “Your letter inquiring about the origin of my name has been forwarded to me. In answer to your question, I must say that ‘Ayn’ is both a real name and an invention. The original of it is a Finnish feminine name Its pronunciation, spelled phonetically, would be: ‘I-na.’ I do not know what its correct spelling should be in English, but I chose to make it ‘Ayn,’ eliminating the final ‘a.’ I pronounce it as the letter ‘I’ with an ‘n’ added to it.” Letters of Ayn Rand, page 40
Another source noticed that “Ayn Rand” is part of her actual last name in Cyrillic print (taken from her diploma)
Rosenbaum =
Notice the last three letters – they look like AYN. And, quite possibly, she chose other letters of her last name to Americanize it and the result was RAND.

12. Frank & Ayn
Meets her future husband, actor Frank O’Connor, at the studios. They get married in 1929 and remain together until his death at age 82 in 1979.
Rand dies in New York City on March 6, 1982 at age 77 of cardiovascular disease.
Frank & Ayn, 1964

13. Writing and teaching
During her writing career, she wrote screenplays, plays, essays, articles, and speeches. She also gave lectures at colleges and taught at the college level.

14. Published Works 1946 - Anthem 1936 –We The Living
1943 –The Fountainhead
1957 – Atlas Shrugged
Anthem

15. Bibliography