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Nikola Tesla
1856–1943 · Inventor & Engineer
A Serbian-American inventor and electrical engineer whose polyphase alternating-current system and induction motor helped shape modern electrical technology.
“The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine.”
Why is this scientist famous?
Developing the polyphase alternating-current system and induction motor, and pioneering high-frequency and wireless technologies.
Tesla developed an influential polyphase alternating-current system and induction motor that helped make long-distance electrical power distribution practical. His work also included the Tesla coil, wireless experiments and one of the earliest radio-controlled devices. His inventions became important parts of the wider development of modern electrical power and communication technology.
Nikola's story
Early Life
Nikola Tesla was born in 1856 in Smiljan, then part of the Austrian Empire and now in Croatia, to Serbian parents. His father was an Orthodox priest and his mother, Đuka Mandić, was known for her mechanical ingenuity. Tesla studied engineering at the Austrian Polytechnic in Graz and later attended lectures in Prague, although he did not complete a university degree. He worked in Budapest and Paris before emigrating to the United States in 1884 and briefly joining the Edison Machine Works.
The War of the Currents
Tesla did not invent alternating current, but he made major advances in polyphase AC power. In the late 1880s he patented a practical induction motor and related polyphase systems. George Westinghouse acquired rights to Tesla's patents and incorporated them into the wider Westinghouse AC system. AC's ability to use transformers to raise and lower voltage gave it major advantages for transmitting power over long distances. Westinghouse used AC at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and AC systems were later used in the Niagara Falls hydroelectric project.
Visionary Ideas
Tesla developed the Tesla coil, experimented extensively with high-frequency electricity and wireless transmission, and patented systems related to radio communication. In 1898 he publicly demonstrated a radio-controlled boat at Madison Square Garden, an important early example of remote control. He later built Wardenclyffe Tower on Long Island as part of an ambitious plan for worldwide wireless communication and power transmission, but the project was never completed after funding collapsed.
Later Years
Tesla spent his final decades in New York hotels, feeding pigeons and continuing to sketch inventions. He died with little money after a career that produced more than 100 U.S. patents as well as numerous patents in other countries. His reputation has grown enormously since, and today he is celebrated as one of history's greatest inventors.
What did they discover?
Alternating Current (AC) System
Developed important polyphase AC motors and power-system patents that were adopted by Westinghouse and became influential in the expansion of alternating-current electricity.
Tesla Coil
A high-voltage resonant transformer developed in 1891 that became important in Tesla's experiments with high-frequency electricity and wireless transmission.
Induction Motor
Developed a practical polyphase induction motor using a rotating magnetic field, patented in 1888 and later adopted by Westinghouse.
Radio Control
In 1898, Tesla demonstrated a radio-controlled boat at Madison Square Garden, one of the earliest successful demonstrations of wireless remote control.
Amazing facts
Tesla was born in Smiljan in 1856, in a region that is now part of Croatia, and grew up in a Serbian Orthodox family.
Tesla described having an unusually vivid visual imagination and said he often developed machines mentally before constructing them.
He spoke eight languages.
Tesla became famous for dramatic public demonstrations of high-frequency electricity and glowing wireless lamps.
He worked briefly at the Edison Machine Works after arriving in New York in 1884, but left within months and soon began developing his own electrical inventions.
The SI unit for magnetic flux density is named the "tesla" in his honour.
Timeline
Born in Smiljan, Austrian Empire (now Croatia)
Emigrated to New York and briefly worked for Edison
Patented his polyphase induction motor and related AC system
Westinghouse used alternating current at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, drawing on polyphase technology including Tesla's patents
Demonstrated a radio-controlled boat at Madison Square Garden
Began construction of Wardenclyffe Tower
Died in a New York hotel room
Awards & honours
Related Super Scientists
Thomas Edison
1847–1931 · Inventor & Businessman
Developing a practical electric-lighting system, inventing the phonograph and leading important work on early motion-picture technology.
Albert Einstein
1879–1955 · Theoretical Physicist
Developing the theory of relativity and the equation E=mc².
Michael Faraday
1791–1867 · Physicist & Chemist
Discovered electromagnetic induction and created pioneering devices that became the foundations of the electric motor, transformer and generator.
