Nureyev’s defection inspired other famous Russian dancers, including Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov, also to defect to the West, where they could flourish in their lives and careers. For example, now free, they could dance to the music of Prokofiev and the choreography of Balanchine, both of which were illegal in the Soviet Union.

Tonight Robert Begley will join Andrew Bernstein and Arshak Benlian on their Blog Talk Radio show, Objectively Speaking. They'll discuss the Celebrate the Constitution Summit a conference scheduled for September. The show airs live from 8 to 9 pm Eastern, and the call-in number is 347-855-8824. Tune in, call in, tell your friends!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born January 27, 1756, was not only a musical genius and prolific composer; he also founded or revolutionized several genres. Here are some of his accomplishments.

Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s greatest statesmen, was born January 11, 1757. Here are a few of his many vital achievements.

Peter Thiel, who founded PayPal in 1999 and sold it to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002, knows something about entrepreneurship. Among other things, he knows that entrepreneurs do not always need a college degree to succeed—for example, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Ralph Lauren, and Mark Zuckerberg dropped…

Two hundred forty years ago today, December 16, 1773, to protest a tea tax that implied unlimited power on the part of Britain to tax the colonies, members of the Sons of Liberty boarded British ships and dumped 340 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. This protest was the first…

Shortly after the United States declared independence from Britain in 1776, British troops occupied New York City and, because of its pivotal location and resources, made it the center of their operations throughout the Revolutionary War. On November 25, 1783, the last remnant of British tyranny in the American colonies—its…

In a recent Investor’s Business Daily editorial, Thomas Sowell discusses the political left’s war on achievement. As an example of the kind of achievement he sees as an affront to the left, he describes the accomplishments of “an upbeat young black man who was born without arms.” Sowell cites an…

Jeff Britting, a composer and curator of the Ayn Rand Archives, has adapted Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem as stage play, which will be presented in New York City by the Austin Shakespeare Theater Company. Under the artistic direction of Ann Ciccolella, the production was originally performed in Austin, Texas in…

Allan Gotthelf—a philosopher and author best known for his scholarship on Aristotle and Ayn Rand—died August 30, 2013 of cancer at the age of seventy. Gotthelf knew Rand, discussed philosophy with her on multiple occasions, and participated in her workshops on epistemology, transcripts of which were later published. His obituary…

Tonight, I’ll be joining Andrew Bernstein and Arshak Benlian on their new Blog Talk Radio show, “Objectively Speaking.” We’ll be discussing the life and achievements of Steve Jobs. The show airs live from 8 to 9 PM Eastern Time, and the call-in number is 347-855-8824. Tune in, call in, tell…

In a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece, “Targeting the Wealthy Kills Jobs,” T. J. Rodgers, founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor, addresses some causes and consequences of today’s culture of envy. “The American dream has traditionally been one of individual success that is rewarded and admired,” writes Rodgers. “But…

Today, July 20, is the anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s historic walk on the moon and his famous proclamation, “That’s one small step for a man. One giant leap for mankind.” The success of the Apollo space program required the dedicated effort of thousands of individuals, all of whom are to…

This week marks the 150th anniversary of two pivotal Union victories during the American Civil War: Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The Battle of Gettysburg is widely known. Sparked by Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s invasion of northern territory, where he hoped to put the Union on the defensive, the three-day clash…

Imagine a romantic opera that features such revolutionary era characters as Paul Revere, Sam Adams, and James Otis. You might understandably assume that such a work had been written a long time ago, when romanticism and the American Revolution were more highly regarded by the culture. This opera, however, was…