Contents
Nikola Tesla
Developing motors and systems for alternating-current electricity.
Electrical engineering · Tesla coil
- Born
- 10 July 1856
- Birthplace
- Smiljan (now Croatia)
- Died
- 7 January 1943
More people
Nikola Tesla
A Serbian-American inventor whose electrical experiments ranged from practical motors to ambitious wireless-power projects.
Early life
Smiljan childhood
Born to a Serbian family in the Austrian Empire.
Technical education
Studied engineering and physics without completing a degree.
Career
- 1880s
Electrical work
Worked in telephony and for Continental Edison.
- 1884
Move to America
Worked briefly for Edison in New York.
- 1888
Westinghouse agreement
Licensed important alternating-current patents.
- 1899
Colorado experiments
Investigated high-voltage, high-frequency electricity.
Contributions
Induction motor
Used a rotating magnetic field to drive a motor.
Tesla coil
Developed a device for producing high-frequency, high-voltage currents.
Radio-controlled boat
Demonstrated wireless control of a model vessel.
Beyond work
Citizenship
Became a US citizen in 1891.
Literary friendship
Became friends with writer Mark Twain, who visited his laboratory.
Sources & photo credit
Biographical reference ↗Smithsonian: Tesla’s motor and patents ↗Photo: Napoleon Sarony. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
