Iconoclast writer Ayn Rand was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1905. She immigrated to the United States in 1926, and became an American citizen five years later.

Her visceral hatred of Communism made her a strong believer in Capitalism and the rights of the individual, and an ardent opponent of what she often termed, "collectivism."

Her literary creations often featured strong and unusual individualists engaged in a struggle against "the system." She created a philosophy called objectivism, which rejected selflessness among people in favor of "I," a person's putting himself and his interests first, as long as does not harm others.

Rand's two most famous novels are Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, for which she received great acclaim.