An inspiration to economist Alan Greenspan and many others, novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand (1905–1982) was born Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum in St. Petersburg, Russia, and moved to America in 1926.

Inspired by Victor Hugo and Aristotle, her first novel, We the Living (1936), took a close look at Russian communism. “It is as near to an autobiography as I will ever write,” she explained.

Rand is best known for The Fountainhead (1943), with the memorable character Howard Roark, loosely based on Frank Lloyd Wright, and Atlas Shrugged (1957), her 1,168-page masterpiece and last work of fiction. In it, heroine Dagny Taggart forges Objectivism, a doctrine that champions self-interest and what Rand called “rational selfishness.”

“There are two sides to every issue,” Rand believed. “One side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.”

Controversial and often panned by critics, she continued to write with passion about individual rights and work. Readers have long argued over her conclusions, but few deny the force of her voice. Her characters reflect integrity and resolve.

A tribute to hard work and excellence, Rand once observed, “The quickest way to kill the human spirit is to ask someone to do mediocre work.”

A fan of poetry, Rudyard Kipling’s glorious If was her favorite, and the verse was read at her funeral.