Nikola TeslaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFor other uses, seeNikola Tesla (disambiguation)andTesla.Nikola Tesla

Tesla, aged 34, 1890, photo byNapoleon Sarony

Born10 July 1856Smiljan,Austrian Empire(modern-dayCroatia)

Died7 January 1943(aged86)New York City,New York

Causeof deathCoronary thrombosis

EthnicitySerb

CitizenshipAustrian (in 1891 prior to becoming a U. S. citizen)[1]United States(30 July 1891 7 January 1943)

EducationGraz University of Technology(dropped out)

Engineering career

Engineering disciplineElectrical engineering,mechanical engineering

Significant projectsAlternating current,high-voltage, high-frequency power experiments

Significant designInduction motorRotating magnetic fieldTesla coilRadioremote control vehicle(torpedo)[2]

Significant awards[show]

Signature

Nikola Tesla(Serbian Cyrillic: ; 10 July 1856 7 January 1943) was aSerbian American[3][4][5][6]inventor,electrical engineer,mechanical engineer,physicist, andfuturistbest known for his contributions to the design of the modernalternating current(AC)electricity supplysystem.[7]Tesla gained experience intelephonyand electrical engineering before emigrating to theUnited Statesin 1884 to work forThomas Edisonin New York City. He soon struck out on his own with financial backers, setting up laboratories and companies to develop a range of electrical devices. HispatentedACinduction motorand transformer were licensed byGeorge Westinghouse, who also hired Tesla for a short time as a consultant. His work in the formative years of electric power development was involved in a corporate alternating current/direct current"War of Currents" as well as variouspatentbattles.Tesla went on to pursue his ideas of wireless lighting and electricity distribution in his high-voltage, high-frequency power experiments in New York and Colorado Springs, and made early (1893) pronouncements on the possibility ofwireless communicationwith his devices. He tried to put these ideas to practical use in his ill-fated attempt at intercontinental wireless transmission, which was his unfinishedWardenclyffe Towerproject.[8]In his lab he also conducted a range of experiments with mechanical oscillators/generators, electrical discharge tubes, and early X-ray imaging. He also built a wireless controlled boat, one of the first ever exhibited.Tesla was renowned for his achievements and showmanship, eventually earning him a reputation inpopular cultureas an archetypal "mad scientist".[9]His patents earned him a considerable amount of money, much of which was used to finance his own projects with varying degrees of success.[10]:121,154He lived most of his life in a series of New York hotels, through his retirement. He died on 7 January 1943.[11]His work fell into relative obscurity after his death, but in 1960 theGeneral Conference on Weights and Measuresnamed theSI unitof magnetic flux density theteslain his honor.[12]There has been a resurgence in interest in Tesla in popular culture since the 1990s.[13]Contents[hide] 1Early years (18561885) 1.1Working for Edison 2Middle years (18861899) 2.1AC and the induction motor 2.2War of Currents 2.3"Tesla Polyphase System" 2.4Niagara and patents 2.5American citizenship 2.6X-ray experimentation 2.7Radio 2.8Colorado Springs 3Wardenclyffe years (19001917) 4Nobel Prize rumors 5Later years (19181943) 5.1Directed-energy weapon 6Death 6.1Estate 7Patents 8Personal life 8.1Appearance 8.2Eidetic memory 8.3Sleep habits 8.4Relationships 8.5On experimental and theoretical physics 8.6On society 8.7On religion 9Literary works 10Legacy and honors 10.1Things named after Tesla 10.1.1Awards 10.1.2Enterprises and organizations 10.1.3Holidays and events 10.1.4Measures 10.1.5Places 10.2Plaques and memorials 11See also 12References 12.1Notes 12.2Sources 13Further reading 14External linksEarly years (18561885)

Tesla wearing afolk costume,c.1880

Rebuilt, Tesla's house (parish hall) inSmiljan,Croatia, where he was born, and the rebuilt church, where his father served. During theYugoslav Wars, several of the buildings were severely damaged by fire. They were restored and reopened in 2006.[14]

Tesla's baptismal record, 28 June 1856

Nikola Tesla's father Milutin,Orthodoxpriest in the village ofSmiljanNikola Tesla was born on 10 July [O.S.28 June] 1856 into aSerbfamily in the village ofSmiljan,Austrian Empire(modern-dayCroatia[15]).[16][17]His father, Milutin Tesla, was anOrthodoxpriest.[18][19][20][21]Tesla's mother, uka Tesla (neMandi), whose father was also an Orthodox priest,[16]:10had a talent for making home craft tools, mechanical appliances, and the ability to memorizeSerbian epic poems. uka had never received a formal education. Nikola credited hiseidetic memoryand creative abilities to his mother's genetics and influence.[10][22]Tesla's progenitors were from western Serbia, near Montenegro.[16]:12Tesla was the fourth of five children. He had an older brother named Dane and three sisters, Milka, Angelina and Marica. Dane was killed in a horse-riding accident when Nikola was five.[23]In 1861, Tesla attended the "Lower" or "Primary" School in Smiljan where he studied German, arithmetic, and religion.[24]In 1862, the Tesla family moved toGospi, Austrian Empire, where Tesla's father worked as a pastor. Nikola completed "Lower" or "Primary" School, followed by the "Lower Real Gymnasium" or "Normal School."[25]In 1870, Tesla moved toKarlovac,[26]to attend school at theHigher Real Gymnasium, where he was profoundly influenced by a math teacher Martin Sekuli.[16]:32[27]The classes were held in German, as it was a school within the Austro-Hungarian Military Frontier.[28]Tesla was able to perform integral calculus in his head, which prompted his teachers to believe that he was cheating.[29]He finished a four-year term in three years, graduating in 1873.[16]:33In 1873, Tesla returned to his birthtown, Smiljan. Shortly after he arrived, Tesla contractedcholera; he was bedridden for nine months and was near death multiple times. Tesla's father, in a moment of despair, promised to send him to the best engineering school if he recovered from the illness[26][27](his father had originally wanted him to enter the priesthood