Ayn Rand was born Alisa Rosenbaum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Her family fled Russia after the Bolshevik revolution confiscated her father's pharmacy. Rand studied history at the University of Petrograd before emigrating from Russia in 1926. She developed her philosophy of Objectivism, which emphasized individualism and reason. Her major novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged explored these themes of individualism against collectivism. Rand believed in traditional gender roles and was critical of feminism and homosexuality. She died in 1982 in New York City.