The incredible life and inventions of Nikola Tesla

Do you enjoy the convenience of electricity at home? Love tuning into great music or talk radio? How about using remote controls for your TV, garage door, or even a drone? Believe it or not, it's all thanks to Nikola Tesla, the Serbian American inventor and futurist whose innovations are legendary and continue to influence our world. His creations include the alternating current (AC) system, fluorescent and neon lighting, wireless telegraphy, and the massive turbines that harnessed the power of Niagara Falls.

Arguably one of America's greatest inventors, Tesla has a mystique unlike any other, and his legacy endures, reminding us of the brilliance that shaped modern technology. Click through the gallery to learn more about his fascinating life and work.

Tesla's humble beginnings

Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856, in Smiljan, Lika County, in the Austrian Empire (modern-day Croatia), as an ethnic Serb. His father, Milutin Tesla, was an Eastern Orthodox priest, and his mother, Georgina, also came from a family with a long tradition of Orthodox priesthood.

His mother's influence

Tesla once said, “My mother was an inventor of the first order. She invented and constructed all kinds of tools and devices and wove the finest designs from thread.” He firmly believed that with equal access to education and resources, she could have achieved even greater things. 

Tesla's unique quirks

Young Nikola Tesla exhibited some unusual quirks, possibly early signs of OCD. He avoided touching anyone's hair, was fascinated by shiny objects and jewelry, obsessively calculated the cubic content of his food, and counted his steps wherever he went. 

Sparked by curiosity

In high school, his physics teacher's intriguing demonstrations of electrical "mysteries" sparked a lifelong fascination with this extraordinary force. Enchanted by the scientific discoveries of the time, Tesla wrote: "Our senses enable us to perceive only a minute portion of the outside world."

Tesla's battle with cholera

After graduating high school in 1873, Tesla returned to his hometown only to be struck by cholera, one of the most perilous diseases of the 19th century. It left him bedridden for nine long months and brought him close to death on several occasions.

Ignorance during the epidemic

Tesla later wrote in his memoirs: "People knew nothing of the character of the disease and the means of sanitation were of the poorest kind. They burned huge piles of odorous shrubbery to purify the air, but drank freely of the infected water and died in crowds like sheep." 

Beyond expectations

Tesla earned a scholarship to college, where he excelled, achieving the highest grades in twice the required number of subjects. The dean praised him to his father, saying: "Your son is a star of the first rank."

A genius in crisis

Humiliated by his failure to graduate, Tesla suddenly relocated to Maribor. His family and friends suspected he had drowned in the Mur River. In reality, he had suffered a nervous breakdown, and it wasn't until police questioned him for not having a residence permit that Tesla was compelled to return to his hometown and confront his family.

The chief electrician

At 25, Tesla's career skyrocketed when he moved to Budapest in 1881 to work at the telephone exchange. He quickly rose to the position of chief electrician, enhancing the station's equipment and perfecting an amplifier.

Tesla's departure from Edison

One of Tesla's projects involved developing an arc lamp-based street lighting system, and although he succeeded, the voltage was too high for Edison's low-voltage system. After disputes with Thomas Edison over bonus pay for his inventions, Tesla resigned and began pursuing his career as an independent inventor and engineer.

A new era of efficiency

Tesla made a remarkable comeback by partnering with private investors adept at monetizing innovative inventions. Together, they established the Tesla Electric Company, where Nikola developed an AC induction motor that significantly enhanced energy generation efficiency. This design continues to serve as the primary power generator in both industrial and household applications today.

Pioneering electromagnetic waves

Apart from the AC-DC controversy, Tesla ran several independent laboratories in Manhattan. His growing fascination with electromagnetic radiation, including radio waves, led to a groundbreaking discovery. While experimenting with a Ruhmkorff coil and his own high-speed alternator, he developed the Tesla coil—an electrical resonant transformer circuit that utilized an air gap instead of insulating material.

Tesla's lightning experiment

To further investigate his ideas, Tesla established an experimental station in Colorado Springs. He informed reporters that he was conducting wireless telegraphy experiments, sending signals all the way to Paris. Using a massive Tesla coil, he generated artificial lightning with millions of volts, and at one point caused a massive power outage by burning out the generator in El Paso.

Tesla vs. Marconi

Tesla yearned to create a more powerful transmitter to surpass Marconi's radio-based system, which he suspected was a copy of his own work. But, Marconi outpaced Tesla by transmitting a signal from England to Newfoundland. This drove Tesla to a state of desperation, leading him to write 50 letters to Morgan, begging, pleading, and demanding more funding for his groundbreaking concept.

From riches to ruin

By 1915, Tesla was essentially bankrupt, with most of his patents expired and no new inventions to commercialize. Despite his extraordinary past inventions, the media and Wall Street began labeling Tesla a lunatic and a con man. At one of his lowest points, his private lab in New York burned to the ground.

Tesla's last years

For forty years, Tesla resided in various hotels in New York. His habit of accruing large expenses and leaving unpaid bills tarnished his reputation, painting him as frivolous and reckless in the eyes of the public.

The enigmatic inventor

Tesla never married, considering love and relationships as distractions from his work. Generally asocial, he was described as having "distinguished sweetness, sincerity, modesty, refinement, generosity, and force" when he interacted with others.