Nikola Tesla was a well-known inventor and scientist who led the way in great advancements in the world of electricity and other scientific fields. In this article, you will learn about Tesla’s life and the work he is best known for.
1. Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856, in Smiljan, Austrian Empire in what was known as the Croatian Military Frontier. He died in New York City on January 7, 1943. He was 86 years old when he died. In his lifetime, Tesla has lived in the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, France, and the United State. He obtained a citizenship in America after 1891.
2. Tesla was of Serbian ethnicity.
3. There were five children in the Tesla family with Nikola being the fourth. His older brother Dane was killed in a horse-riding accident when Nikola was just five years old. That left him being the only male amongst his sisters, Angelina, Marica, and Milka.
4. When Tesla went to school in Karlovac, he completed a 4-year term in three years.
5. Tesla had a hand in many different fields of science and research that went beyond the electromagnetism and electromechanical engineering he is often associated with. Some of his work dealt with robotics, remote control, radar, nuclear physics, and computer science. The achievements of Tesla have also been used to support a variety of theories, including beliefs concerning UFOs and early New Age occultism.
6. In 1943, the Supreme Court of the United States gave him credit as being the inventor of the radio.
7. Some of the inventions and contributions to the world linked to Nikola Tesla include the Tesla turbine, Tesla coil, induction motor, and the death ray.
8. Some of the awards and recognition that Tesla earned include the Edison Medal (1916), Elliott Cresson Medal (1893), and John Scott Medal (1934).
9. One of the people that greatly influenced Tesla was Ernst Mach, an Austrian physicist and philosopher, who made contributions to the field of physics. Mach is responsible for the Mach number and played an important role in the study of shock waves.
10. Without Nikola Tesla, it would have taken much longer to reach advanced means of electricity. He is considered one of the most significant contributors to the birth of commercial electricity. During the late 19th and early 20th century, he made many strides in the field of electromagnetism. The patents and theoretical work associated with Tesla would formulate the basis of modern alternating current (AC) electric power systems.
11. When Tesla was in the United States, he gained a reputation that challenged all the other inventors and scientists during his time. However, his ultimate fame and recognition suffered due to his eccentric ways. At times, his thoughts were dismissed as being to odd and some people looked at him as a ‘mad scientist.’
12. Unfortunately, Tesla spent all of his energy in his work, but never took the time to organize his finances. When he died, he was poor.
13. There is a monument in Niagara Fall, New York that portrays Tesla reading a set of note, which is a duplicate of a monument that decorates the front of the Belgrade University Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
14. Tesla collected roughly 300 patents on a worldwide scale, which included an electric arc lamp, electrical meter, steam engine, and a speed indicator.