Historical Figure
Nikola Tesla
1856–1943
Serbian-American engineer and inventor (1856–1943)
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Biography
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American engineer, futurist, and inventor. He is known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.
In Their Own Words (5)
In a crystal we have the clear evidence of the existence of a formative life-principle, and though we cannot understand the life of a crystal, it is none the less a living being.
"The Problem of Increasing Human Energy: With Special Reference to the Harnessing of the Sun’s Energy", Century Illustrated Magazine, vol. 60, no. 2 (June 1900), p. 180 , 1900
I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success...Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything.
Quoted in Marconi and Tesla: Pioneers of Radio Communication (2008) by Tim O'Shei, , p. 5 , 2008
Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more.
"The Problem of Increasing Human Energy", Century Illustrated Magazine (June 1900) , 1900
Never trust a Jew!
See Margaret Cheney, Tesla: Man Out of Time (Touchstone, 2001 [1981]), p. 165 , 2001
Alternate currents, especially of high frequencies, pass with astonishing freedom through even slightly rarefied gases. The upper strata of the air are rarefied. To reach a number of miles out into space requires the overcoming of difficulties of a merely mechanical nature.
"Experiments With Alternate Currents Of High Potential And High Frequency" an address to the Institution of Electrical Engineers, London (February 1892) , 1892
Timeline
The story of Nikola Tesla, told in moments.
Born during a lightning storm in Smiljan, Austrian Empire. His mother, who never received formal education, builds her own mechanical appliances and memorizes Serbian epic poems. Tesla credits her for his eidetic memory. His father is an Orthodox priest who wants the boy to follow him into the church.
Arrives in New York with four cents, a letter of recommendation, and some poems. Gets hired at the Edison Machine Works. Stays up all night repairing dynamos on the SS Oregon. Edison sees him and says, "This is a damned good man." Six months later Tesla quits, possibly over an unpaid $50,000 bonus Edison calls "American humor."
Demonstrates his AC induction motor at the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. George Westinghouse buys the patent rights for $60,000 in cash and stock plus $2.50 per horsepower royalty. The "War of Currents" against Edison begins in earnest.
Westinghouse is near bankruptcy. Tesla tears up his royalty contract. The royalties, if collected, could have been worth $12 million. He walks away from the money to keep Westinghouse alive and AC power in production.
Demonstrates a wirelessly controlled boat at Madison Square Garden. Spectators think it's a trick. Some suspect a trained monkey is hidden inside. It's one of the first radio-controlled devices ever built.
Dies alone in room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel. He is 86. A maid ignores the "do not disturb" sign and finds him. He'd been feeding pigeons from his window for years. Thousands of pages of his notes are seized by the Office of Alien Property. The FBI gets involved.
The General Conference on Weights and Measures names the SI unit of magnetic flux density the tesla. His name is now stamped on every MRI machine and every electric car made by the company Elon Musk didn't found but did rename after him.
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