1. Nikola Tesla was born in a place that we today know as Croatia. He was born in month of July in year 1856. Exact date was 10th of July and the exact place was Smiljan.
2. Tesla idolized Thomas Edison and was hell-bent on working with him. That’s the reason why Tesla went to United States of America in 1884 and did start working with Edison but only for a very short period of time.
3. Tesla actually inherited his interest in electricity from his mother whose name was Djuka Mandic. His mother used to creatively use her spare time building small appliances that she could use in her household.
4. Contrary to Nikola Tesla’s mother’s inventor-attitude, his father wanted him to get into priesthood because his father himself was a priest. His father was also a writer.
5. Johann-Rudolph-Glauber Realschule Karlstadt is where Nikola Tesla studied. It was a polytechnic institute located in Graz, Austria. Later in 1870s, Tesla studied in University of Prague.
6. After his university studies, Tesla went to Budapest and joined Central Telephone Exchange as a worker. It is there where he first came up with induction motor idea.
7. Tesla moved to United States in 1884 hoping to work with Thomas Edison. Edison was not only a famed inventor but was also a tenured businessman. Edison earned his fortune by selling Direct Current across United States.
8. When Edison received Tesla’s request, Edison took him in. Both of them worked towards improving Edison’s inventions for a few months. It was only a matter of time that conflicts between the two men started. Tesla didn’t have business acumen and he was more humanitarian by nature as opposed to Edison’s capitalist nature. So, they just parted their ways.
9. A few investors came along in 1885 and gave Tesla money to start the Tesla Electric Light Company. The investors wanted Tesla to create an improved version of Arc Lighting. Once Tesla accomplished what the investors wanted him to do, he was thrown out of the venture.
10. With all funding lost Tesla was back to poverty and turned into a manual labor to ensure his survival. It was only in 1887 that Tesla came up with Alternating Current electricity and went ahead with filing several patents.
11. It was George Westinghouse – an American entrepreneur who became interested in Tesla’s AC technology. Westinghouse purchased patents of Tesla for a sum of $60,000 in 1888 after convincing Tesla that only his technology can help Westinghouse to send long-distance power to the nation. The money was paid in cash as well as stock.
12. It was only a matter of time that Tesla’s Alternating Current started gaining interest all over the nation and that’s when Edison stepped in engaged in a negative and detrimental press campaign against AC technology, in an attempt to make sure that people buy DC technology.
13. Despite Edison’s attempts to defame Tesla and his superior AC technology, Tesla continued his work and went on to invent the famous Tesla Coil.
14. As of today, Tesla Coil is the foundation stone of all wireless technologies that we use in our daily life.
15. Despite Edison’s many attempts to kill the newly born AC technology, the World’s Columbian Exposition that was held in 1893 in Chicago, Westinghouse Corporation (that now held patents of Tesla’s AC technology) was chosen providing lighting supply. That is where Tesla went on to demonstrate the capabilities of his Alternating Current system.
16. In 1895 Westinghouse asked Tesla to harness the hydroelectric power of the Niagara Falls. Tesla did that which helped light up New York’s Buffalo city. This achievement led to rave reviews from press and Alternating Current soon became a standard of 20th century and it still continues to be a standard in 21st century.
17. Tesla’s major inventions were AC system and Tesla Coil but those weren’t the only ones. He also invented induction motor and dynamos. Some other inventions of Tesla that other people patented later in their own name include fluorescent bulbs, x-rays, radio (although Guglielmo Marconi is given the credit), remote control etc. He also pioneered robotics and wireless technology way ahead of his own time.
Read More Here: 30 Interesting Nikola Tesla Facts
CP/Sonya Buchanan/6:00am
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