The Sorrowful Life Story of Scientist Nikola Tesla
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VIVA – Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American engineer and physicist known for his contributions to designing alternating current (AC) electrical systems and developing AC generation and transmission technology.
As quoted from Goalcast, Nikola Tesla left the world at the age of 86 with more than 300 patents under his belt. Some of them included creations such as wireless power, the radio, X-ray, remote control, electric motor, the rotating magnetic field, neon lamp, and many more, which makes him one of the greatest inventors of all time.
His life story is an unusual one. From being a boy different than anyone else and being fascinated by electricity, to having his biggest rival in the face of Thomas Alva Edison and getting his ideas stolen.
Nikola Tesla was born in 1856 in Smiljan, Croatia, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father was a priest in the Serbian Orthodox church, while his mother managed the family farm.
Thomas Alva Edison
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At first, Nikola Tesla arrived in New York in 1884 and was hired as an engineer at Thomas Alva Edison's office in Manhattan. He worked there for a year, impressing Edison with his diligence and ingenuity.
At one point Edison told Tesla that he would pay US$50,000 for a better design of his DC dynamo product. After months of experimentation, Tesla came up with a solution and asked for the money. But Edison refused, saying, "Tesla, you don't understand our American humor," he said. Then, Tesla quit after doing that.
Nikola Tesla and Westinghouse
Nikola Tesla.
After an unsuccessful attempt to start the Tesla Electric Light Company and a US$2-a-day trench-digging stint, Tesla found backers to support his research into alternating current. In 1887 and 1888, he was granted more than 30 patents for his inventions and invited to speak to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers for his work.
His talk caught the attention of George Westinghouse, the inventor who had launched the first AC power system near Boston and was Edison's main competitor in the "Battle of the Currents".
