Barbara Branden
Ayn Rand's intimate confidante turned definitive biographer, whose personal account forever changed the public understanding of the Objectivist founder.
1929–2013 (age 84)·Canadian writer·Birthday: May 14·The Silent Generation
Biography
Barbara Branden began as a devoted disciple, meeting Ayn Rand as a UCLA undergraduate and quickly becoming part of the novelist's inner circle. She co-founded the Nathaniel Branden Institute, the primary vehicle for spreading Rand's Objectivist philosophy, and for years was Rand's close friend and editorial sounding board. Her personal and professional life was deeply entangled with Rand's, including a complex arrangement involving their respective spouses. The great rupture came in 1968 when Rand excommunicated Barbara and her then-husband Nathaniel. Decades later, Barbara authored 'The Passion of Ayn Rand', a biography that blended deep admiration with unsparing personal testimony. Drawing on her unique insider access, it revealed the intense passions and profound contradictions of Rand's life, offering a portrait that neither hagiography nor hatchet job, but a deeply human story that reshaped the legacy of its subject.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Barbara was born in 1929, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Barbara Was Born
The biggest hits of 1929
#1 Movie
The Broadway Melody
Best Picture
The Broadway Melody
Barbara's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1929Born
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1934Started school
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1942Became a teenager
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1945Could drive
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1947Could vote
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1950Turned 21
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1959Turned 30
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1969Turned 40
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1979Turned 50
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 60
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 70
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 80
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2013Died at 84
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the Nathaniel Branden Institute, the leading organization for promoting Ayn Rand's Objectivist philosophy in the 1950s and 60s.
- Wrote the influential biography 'The Passion of Ayn Rand', which provided an intimate, groundbreaking personal portrait.
- Served as a managing editor for Rand's newsletter, 'The Objectivist', and was a trusted editor of Rand's work.
Did You Know?
She was the first person to whom Ayn Rand showed the manuscript of 'Atlas Shrugged'.
She won a national dance contest in Canada as a teenager.
After the break with Rand, she had a successful career as a literary agent in New York.
“The genius of Ayn Rand was that she was a philosopher of reality, and the tragedy of Ayn Rand was that she was not a philosopher of human reality.”
