Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla

If your hate could be turned into electricity, you could light up the world. Nikola Tesla.

I was told in no uncertain terms by Irena, my fantastic Kompas Tour Guide in Croatia, that if there is one name I simply must remember from my time in Croatia – it’s Nikola Tesla. Not the car company, but perhaps the man whose name has inspired the new cars.

So here are few facts about little known Nikola Tesla that may make you think a little more deeply about electricity and other gadgets and where their origins came from.

Where did he come from?

  • He was born in Lika, Croatia to Serbian parents in 1856 – (Lika was a Serb occupied area so the Serbs claim him as theirs, not Croatian). His dad was an Orthodox priest.
  • His mother was a huge influence in younger life as she was always tinkering with the improvement of household goods and encouraged his interest in this area.
  • Apparently, he was born during a lightning storm but me thinks this is just a little fluff to this story!

Young Entrepreneur

  • He had a challenging personality that meant he was a bit of a loner, these included OCD tendencies that meant anything he had – he must have 3 of, or at least divided by three.
  • He apparently liked pigeons and married a pigeon!
  • He disliked female jewellery and especially pierced ears.
  • He was very well educated and was an engineer and scientist
  • He created many objects that we know well today but was not commercially minded and did not patent many of these objects, helping others to make a fortune from his inventions (electrical generators similar to batteries and the induction motor.
  • After studying internationally, he worked at the telephone exchange in Budapest and it was there he got the idea about induction motors, but after several years of trying to gain interest in his invention, he left for America. He was about 28.

Tesla -v- Edison

  • Tesla was employed by Thomas Edison in his early career and they worked very closely for some time improving Edison’s inventions, with Tesla creating some of his own.
  • Apparently, it transpired that Edison was jealous of Tesla as he was clearly a genius of new ideas and creativity but the two had clashing personalities and Tesla moved on.
  • Many things that Tesla invented during this time were attributed to Edison. Years later through a court battle, it was proved that these ideas were indeed Tesla’s but Edison had promoted them as his own and did all he could to destroy Tesla’s reputation along the way. He even tried to prove that AC was the most dangerous type of electricity by doing the first electrical execution telling people the dangers of having this in their homes.
  • There are a number of documentaries around that are now testament to this or trying to showcase that Tesla indeed was the brains behind many of Edison’s patents and ideas.

Tesla’s inventions

  • Tesla was a pioneer in the discovery of radar technology, X-ray technology, remote control and the rotating magnetic field — the basis of most AC machinery.
  • Tesla designed the alternating-current (AC) electrical system, which would quickly become the preeminent power system of the 20th century and has remained the worldwide standard ever since.
  • However, when Tesla had created electricity he went to the city of Zagreb, the capital of his home country, and tried to convince them to install this and be the first city in the world to have an electricity system. The Council refused, saying that they had just invested in the Gas Lamp infrastructure that was the most innovative lighting system at the time – whoops! (By the way, these gas lamps still exists to this day in Zagreb with 206 lamps and a gentleman employed to light them at night and shut them down in the morning).
  • So Tesla went back to the USA and the old town of Buffalo has the prestige of being the first city to have electricity.
council to take on electricity. This building still has two gas lamps that adorn the entry doors! Idiots.

Moving on

  • He then worked for George Westinghouse who was very interested in Tesla’s electricity and what it could do.
  • Telsa sold many of his patents to Westinghouse.
  • Together they then won (against Edison) the tender to supply lighting at the 1893 World Columbian Expo in Chicago, where Tesla conducted demonstrations of his AC system – to wonderous effect.
  • That basically put Tesla on the map and his career went on to great heights – including hydro electric power plants and the Tesla Coil which laid the foundation for wireless technologies as mentioned above.

The end of his life

  • He lived in a New York Hotel room for a long time where he eventually died alone.
  • In his room many drawings and ideas were found including a ‘death ray’. The USA government got hold of all these drawings and apparently handed them back to the Yugoslav government after some time and are on show in Belgrade. Although they believe not all drawings were actually handed back.
  • Whatever you think or know, it can be said that Nikola Tesla was indeed one of the greatest inventors of all time – and so little was known about him…. Till the car came out.

So now you know a little more about the man whose name is the inspiration for a new wave of electric cars. And I hope Irena, my guide, gives me an A for listening and and telling everyone about the person who I simply must remember from my time in Croatia.

Travel is the (educational) best.