Nikola Tesla Biography
Engineer, Inventor (c. 18561943)
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NAME
Nikola Tesla
OCCUPATION
Engineer, Inventor
BIRTH DATE
c. July 10, 1856
DEATH DATE
January 7, 1943
EDUCATION
University of Prague, Realschule, Karlstadt (renamed Johann-Rudolph-Glauber
Realschule Karlstadt), The Polytechnic Institute (Graz, Austria)
PLACE OF BIRTH
Smiljan, Croatia
PLACE OF DEATH
New York, New York
FULL NAME
Nikola Tesla
SYNOPSIS
DEATH AND LEGACY
WARDENCLYFFE PROJECT
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Inventor Nikola Tesla contributed to the development of the alternatingcurrent electrical system that's widely used today and discovered the
rotating magnetic field (the basis of most AC machinery).
IN THESE GROUPS
FAMOUS PEOPLE IN TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING
FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN ON JULY 10
FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO MADE SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES
FAMOUS ENGINEERS
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Synopsis
Inventor Nikola Tesla was born in July of 1856, in what is now Croatia. He came to the United
States in 1884 and briefly worked with Thomas Edisonbefore the two parted ways. He sold
several patent rights, including those to his alternating-current machinery, to George
Westinghouse. His 1891 invention, the "Tesla coil," is still used in radio technology today. Tesla
died in New York City on January 7, 1943.
Early Life
Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856, in what is now Smiljan, Croatia. Tesla's interest in
electrical invention was spurred by his mother, Djuka Mandic, who invented small household
appliances in her spare time while her son was growing up. Tesla's father, Milutin Tesla, was a
priest and a writer, and he pushed for his son to join the priesthood. But Nikola's interests lay
squarely in the sciences. After studying at the Realschule, Karlstadt (later renamed the JohannRudolph-Glauber Realschule Karlstadt); the Polytechnic Institute in Graz, Austria; and the
University of Prague during the 1870s, Tesla moved to Budapest, where for a time he worked at
the Central Telephone Exchange. It was while in Budapest that the idea for the induction motor
first came to Tesla, but after several years of trying to gain interest in his invention, at age 28
Tesla decided to leave Europe for America.
Famed Inventor
In 1884 Tesla arrived the United States with little more than the clothes on his back and a letter
of introduction to famed inventor and business mogul Thomas Edison, whose DC-based
electrical works were fast becoming the standard in the country. Edison hired Tesla, and the two
men were soon working tirelessly alongside each other, making improvements to Edison's
inventions. However, several months later, the two parted ways due to a conflicting businessscientific relationship, attributed by historians to their incredibly different personalities: While
Edison was a power figure who focused on marketing and financial success, Tesla was
commercially out-of-tune and somewhat vulnerable.
After parting ways with Edison, in 1885 Tesla received funding for the Tesla Electric Light
Company and was tasked by his investors to develop improved arc lighting. After successfully
doing so, however, Tesla was forced out of the venture and for a time had to work as a manual
laborer in order to survive. His luck changed in 1887, when he was able to find interest in his AC
electrical system and funding for his new Tesla Electric Company. Setting straight to work, by
the end of the year, Tesla had successfully filed several patents for AC-based inventions.
Tesla's AC system eventually caught the attention of American engineer and business man
George Westinghouse, who was seeking a solution to supplying the nation with long-distance
power. Convinced that Tesla's inventions would help him achieve this, in 1888 he purchased his
patents for $60,000 in cash and stock in the Westinghouse Corporation. As interest in an
alternating-current system grew, Tesla and Westinghouse were put in direct competition with
Thomas Edison, who was intent on selling his direct-current system to the nation. A negativepress campaign was soon waged by Edison, in an attempt to undermine interest in AC power.
Tesla, for his part, continued in his work and would patent several more inventions during this
period, including the "Tesla coil," which laid the foundation for wireless technologies and is still
used in radio technology today.
Unfortunately for Thomas Edison, the Westinghouse Corporation was chosen to supply the
lighting at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and Tesla conducted
demonstrations of his AC system there. Two years later, in 1895, Tesla designed what was among
the first AC hydroelectric power plants in the United States, at Niagara Falls. The following year,
it was used to power the city of Buffalo, New York, a feat that was highly publicized throughout
the world. With its repeat successes and favorable press, the alternating-current system would
quickly become the preeminent power system of the 20th century, and it has remained the
worldwide standard ever since.
In addition to his AC system and coil, throughout his career, Tesla discovered, designed and
developed ideas for a number of other important inventionsmost of which were officially
patented by other inventorsincluding dynamos (electrical generators similar to batteries) and
the induction motor. He was also a pioneer in the discovery of radar technology, X-ray
technology, remote control and the rotating magnetic fieldthe basis of most AC machinery.
The Fall from Grace
Having become obsessed with the wireless transmission of energy, around 1900 Nikola set to
work on his boldest project yet: to build a global, wireless communication systemto be
transmitted through a large electrical towerfor sharing information and providing free
electricity throughout the world. With funding from a group of investors that included financial
giant J. P. Morgan, in 1901 Tesla began work on the project in earnest, designing and building a
lab with a power plant and a massive transmission tower on a site on Long Island, New York,
that became known as Wardenclyffe. However, when doubts arose among his investors about the
plausibility of Tesla's system and his rival, Guglielmo Marconiwith the financial support
of Andrew Carnegie and Thomas Edisoncontinued to make great advances with his own radio
technologies, Tesla had no choice but to abandon the project. The Wardenclyffe staff was laid off
in 1906 and by 1915 the site had fallen into foreclosure. Two years later Tesla declared
bankruptcy and the tower was dismantled and sold for scrap to help pay the debts he had
accrued.
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Death and Legacy
After suffering a nervous breakdown, Tesla eventually returned to work, primarily as a
consultant. But as time went on, his ideas became progressively more outlandish and impractical.
He also grew increasingly eccentric, devoting much of his time to the care of wild pigeons in
New York City's parks. He even drew the attention of the FBI with his talk of building a
powerful "death beam," which had received some interest from the Soviet Union during World
World II.
Poor and reclusive, Nikola Tesla died on January 7, 1943, at the age of 86, in New York City,
where he had lived for nearly 60 years. But the legacy of the work he left behind him lives on to
this day.
Several books and films have highlighted Tesla's life and famous works, including Nikola Tesla,
The Genius Who Lit the World, a documentary produced by the Tesla Memorial Society and the
Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, Serbia; and The Secret of Nikola Tesla, which stars Orson
Wellesas J. P. Morgan). And in the 2006 Christopher Nolan film The Prestige, Tesla was
portrayed by rock star/actor David Bowie. In 1994, a street sign identifying "Nikola Tesla
Corner" was installed near the site of his former New York City laboratory, at the intersection of
40th Street and 6th Avenue.
