Ayn Rand’s Biographical Timeline
| 1869 | Father, Zinovy Zakarovich Rosenbaum, born in Breslitovsk, Russia (November 18) |
| 1880 | Mother, Anna Borisovna Kaplan, born in St. Petersburg (October 15) |
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| 1904 | Parents married (May 3) |
| 1905 | Born in St. Petersburg (February 2; or, January 20 on the Julian calendar) |
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| 1911 | Teaches self to read |
| 1912 | Family moves to an apartment on Nevsky Prospekt at Znamenskaya Square |
| 1913 | Attends first motion picture exhibition in St. Petersburg |
| 1914 | Reads first romantic fiction, The Mysterious Valley; decides to become a writer |
| 1917 | Witnesses first shots of February revolution |
| 1918 |
Discovers writings of Victor Hugo To escape civil war, family moves to Ukraine (fall) and then Yevpatoria, Crimea (spring) |
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| 1920 | Discovers Aristotle’s works in high school |
| 1921 |
Graduates from Yevpatoria High School #4 (June 30) Family returns to Petrograd Enrolls in Petrograd State University (circa August 24) Discovers the works of Nietzsche (1921–22) |
| 1924 |
Discovers Viennese operettas Graduates from Leningrad State University (October 13) Enrolls in State Technicum for Screen Arts (October 15) |
| 1925 |
“Pola Negri” pamphlet published in Moscow and Leningrad Receives permission to leave USSR (October 29) |
| 1926 |
“Hollywood: American Movie City” pamphlet published in Moscow and Leningrad Departs Leningrad (January 17) Sails from Le Havre, France, for America on the De Grasse (February 10) Arrives in Manhattan (February 19) Resides in Chicago with relatives (February–August) Arrives in Hollywood (September 3) Hired as movie extra by Cecil B. DeMille (September) Meets Frank O’Connor on set of The King of Kings (September) |
| 1927 | Hired by DeMille as junior screen writer (circa June 11) |
| 1929 |
Marries Frank O’Connor (April 15) Hired by RKO wardrobe department |
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| 1931 | Becomes U.S. citizen (March 13) |
| 1932 | Sells “Red Pawn” to Universal Pictures (September 2) |
| 1934 | Makes
first entry in philosophic journal (April 9) Writes Ideal First play, Woman on Trial, opens in Hollywood (October 2) Moves to New York City (November) |
| 1935 | Night of January 16th (formerly, Woman on Trial) opens on Broadway (September 16) Makes first notes for The Fountainhead (December 4) |
| 1936 | We the Living published (April 18) |
| 1938 | Anthem published in England (circa May 7) |
| 1939 | Receives last communication from parents in USSR (circa January) |
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| 1940 | Works for the Wendell Willkie presidential campaign The Unconquered (We the Living adaptation) opens on Broadway (February 13) |
| 1942 | Delivers The Fountainhead manuscript to Bobbs-Merrill (December 31) |
| 1943 | The Fountainhead published (May 8) Begins writing “The Moral Basis of Individualism” (August 18) Moves to California to write The Fountainhead screenplay (November 25) |
| 1944 | Moves into Von Sternberg house designed by Richard Neutra (July) Writes screenplay for Love Letters (September) |
| 1945 |
Makes first notes for Atlas Shrugged (January 1) Guest of Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin East (February 3–4) The Fountainhead reaches #6 on New York Times best-seller list (August 26) First installment of “illustrated” Fountainhead begins in Hearst newspapers nationwide (December 24) |
| 1946 | First U.S. edition of Anthem published (circa July) |
| 1949 | The Fountainhead film opens (June 23) |
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| 1951 | Moves back to New York City (October 23) |
| 1955 | Finishes writing “Galt’s Speech” (October 13) |
| 1957 | Finishes writing Atlas Shrugged (March 20) Atlas Shrugged published (October 10) |
| 1958 | Begins teaching fiction writing class (January 18) Presents first campus talk, at Queens College (March 6) |
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| 1960 | Delivers first major campus talk, “Faith and Force: Destroyers of the Modern World,” at Yale University (February 17) |
| 1961 |
For the New Intellectual published (March 24) Presents first Ford Hall Forum talk, “The Intellectual Bankruptcy of Our Age” (March 26) |
| 1962 | First issue of The Objectivist Newsletter published (January) Nathaniel Branden Institute opens (January) Weekly column begins in the Los Angeles Times (June 17) |
| 1963 | Receives honorary doctorate from Lewis and Clark University (October 2) |
| 1964 | The Virtue of Selfishness published (December) |
| 1966 | First installment of “Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology” published in The Objectivist (July) |
| 1967 | Makes first appearance on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (August 16) |
| 1968 | Nathaniel Branden Institute closes (May) |
| 1969 | Begins teaching nonfiction writing course (March 8) Witnesses launch of Apollo 11 (July 16) Presents first epistemology workshop (October 11) |
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| 1974 |
Presents “Philosophy: Who Needs It” talk at West Point (March 6) Nora Drobysheva (Ayn Rand’s sister) arrives for visit from USSR (April 14) Attends White House dinner for Alan Greenspan swearing-in (September 4) |
| 1976 |
Publishes last article in The Ayn Rand Letter (January–February) Attends White House dinner honoring Malcolm Fraser (July 27) |
| 1977 |
Ford Hall Forum holds luncheon in her honor (April 10) Outlines screenplay for Atlas Shrugged television miniseries (September) |
| 1979 |
Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology published by New American Library (April) Frank O’Connor dies (November 9) |
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| 1981 |
Delivers last Ford Hall Forum lecture, “The Age of Mediocrity” (April 26) Delivers last public lecture, “The Sanction of the Victims,” in New Orleans (November 21) |
| 1982 |
Writes her last page of “Atlas Shrugged” teleplay (January 1) Dies in New York City (March 6) |