• Nikola Tesla

    A 6-pane brochure on the inventor-philosopher who changed the world.

Who He Was

  • Birth

    Nikola Tesla was born on the evening of July 9, 1856 in the middle of brutal lightning storm – foresahdowning his future impact on electricity innovation. During the birth, his mother Duka remarked that “…He will be a child of light” – indirectly foreshadowing his future impact on elctrical systems innovation.

  • Childhood

    As a child, Tesla was inspired to invent by Duka. She invented various household appliances throughout his childhood, including an early electric egg beater. Duka also encouraged his early interest in science.

  • Young Adulthood

    Tesla studied abroad throughout Europe until the late 1870’s, including stops in Germany and Hungary. While in Budapest, Tesla would lay the foundation for one of his most important inventions, the induction motor powered by alternating current. When he failed to geneate interest on it in Europe, he decided to relocate to the United States and pursue his innovations in “the land of opportunity”.

What He Did

  • AC Power Systems

    In 1887, Tesla developed the first alternating current (AC) power system – an induction motor that would have a significant impact on the Industrial Revolutiuon. AC power systems, like the induction motor, would evolve under and after Tesla. These innovations allowed for the widespread transmission and distribution of electricity over long distances, which revolutionized industry and everyday life. AC power systems are the standard through which most homes around the world draw power for lights, appliances, computers, and appliances.

  • Tesla Coil

    The Tesla Coil is a transformer circuit invented by Nikola Tesla that produces low current, high-voltage AC power. The Tesla Coil has several practical and scientific uses, but one of the less publisized might be the most important – the starting point for wireless communication. Tesla coils were used by Tesla to wirelessly transmit electrical power over short distances without the need for a physical connection. Long-term, this innovation yielded some of the earliest concepts that would later revolutionize the way we charge electronic devices.

  • Remote Control Boat

    Yes! Nikola Tesla invented the first radio-controlled boat, which he demonstrated for the first time at Madison Square Garden. The boat was controlled by a device he called a “teleautomaton,” which used radio waves to transmit signals from a remote control to the boat’s control system. This was a landmark event in the development of remote control technology and helped to establish Tesla as one of the leading inventors of his time. The success of his radio-controlled boat also inspired further research and development into remote control technology.

How He’s Remembered

  • Inventor

    Nikola Tesla continues to have a profound impact on the modern world more than 80 years after his passing in 1943. The majority of the Earth’s population has benefitted from Tesla’s work whether they know it or not. Virtually every home or office utilizes AC power in some way. His achievements lived in obscurity for years after his passing, often overshadowed by inventors and tycoons that turned technology into profit more succseffuly than Tesla. The founding and evloution of the namesake car company in recent years has brought Tesla’s accomplishments into the mainstream.His legacy continues to inspire scientists and inventors around the world, and his impact on the fields of electricity, communication, and automation will be felt for generations to come.

  • Conservationist

    Tesla was one of the worlds earliest advocates of renewable energy. In 1900, he identified and publisized the importance and potential of solar energy as an abundant, clean, and renewable energy source – 92 years before the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released it’s first report on global climate change and 120+ years before their sixth report, published in 2022.

  • Inspiration, not Persperation

    Thomas Edison famously described genius as “1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”. Tesla was the opposite – intensely inspired and blessed with a superhuman work ethic. Tesla loved science. He lived and breathed discovery, creativity, and imagination. He was very different than Edison and Westinghouse in that he truly pursued innovation passionately for the sake of science, not profit. He viewed his work as a calling, rathern than a means to an end or dollar. Harish Krishnaswamy, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia called Tesla “…an inventor genius who conceived the things that were ahead of his time but are still used today.”

References

“The American Odyssey : A History of the United States.” Edited by Morton Keller et al., Archive.Org – The American Odyssey: A History of the United States, 2009, archive.org/details/americanodysseyh0000unse.

Milojkovic, Maria. “17 Weird Facts about Nikola Tesla, the Man Who Invented the 20th Century.” Medium – Lessons From History, 6 Dec. 2022, medium.com/lessons-from-history/17-weird-facts-about-nikola-tesla-the-man-who-invented-the-20th-century-c18d103fbf01.

“Nikola Tesla: Alternating Current Motor.” Edited by Lemelson MIT, Lemelson-MIT Program for Inventors and Entrepreneurs, 2015, lemelson.mit.edu/resources/nikola-tesla.

“Top 11 Things You Didn’t Know about Nikola Tesla.” Edited by Energy Gov, Energy.Gov, 2013, www.energy.gov/articles/top-11-things-you-didnt-know-about-nikola-tesla.

Media and Photo Credits

Nikola Tesla Vector – Matias En Elmundo (delCarmet) – licensed through Shutterstock

Tesla Coil Illustration – Atticus Lindley

1898 Nikola Tesla Electric Circuit Controller Patent – SamCal – licensed through Shutterstock

Iconography – Entypo by Daniel Bruce – used used with permission via SIL license