Nikola Tesla
by David Barth
written 13 January 2009
Nikola Tesla was born 10 July 1856 in Smiljan, Lika, Austrian Empire, which was Serbia as of the date of this
writing. At the age of 21 he earned a PhD. He ultimately held four PhD degrees:
- Philosophy from University of Prague
- Physics from a Parisian University
- Electrical Engineering from Columbia University
- Mechanical Engineering from Yale
Tesla's intelligence quotient (IQ) is estimated to be 200. He was tall at six feet, six inches
(1.98 meters) and weighed 150 pounds (68 kilograms).
In 1884 Tesla immigrated to the United States, arriving at Castle Gardens. Ellis Island was not built until
1892.
He never married, but he dated Sarah Bernhardt, an actress, and financier J. P. Mortgan's daughter, among other
attractive women.
Time magazine named him "Man of the Year" in 1931 and featured his picture on the cover of an issue.
Tesla was hired by Edison when he arrived in the U.S. But he had a long dispute with Edison after Edison promised him a
significant sum of money if he would repair the direct current electrical systems in 50 homes in New York City. When
Tesla completed the work and asked Edison for the money, Edison said that he was just joking. Tesla quit and found
work elsewhere.
When mines in Telluride were unable to provide sufficient ventilation with the available electricity, the city had
a local businessman, L. L. Nunn ask Tesla for help. Tesla designed a hydroelectric plant and had the components shipped
to the location of a river in Ames, Colorado that could supply water power for his turbines. The electricity that was
generated provided sufficient power to satisfy the requirements of the mines. At the time of this writing, there was
a placque at the site honoring Tesla for his assistance to Telluride and the mines in the area.
Later, Tesla was the architect of the hydroelectric powerplant at Niagra Falls.
In 1899 he moved his lab to Colorado Springs. He held more than 700 patents, worldwide.
In 1943 the U. S. Supreme Court credited him as the inventor of the radio. Marconi, who had claimed the invention, had
simply taken Tesla's design and used it for himself.
Tesla contributed to the following sciences:
- radio
- alternating current (AC) electricity
- electromagnetism
- robotics
- ballistics
- computer science
- nuclear physics
- theoretical physics
The measurement for magnitic fields was named the Tesla in his honor.
He did not handle his personal finances well and died pennyless at the age of 86 on 7 January 1943.
