10 things you have to know about Nikola Tesla

1. Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856, in Smiljan, Croatia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. He was the son of a Serbian Orthodox priest and a clever and inventive mother. According to family legend, midway through the birth, the midwife wrung her hands and declared the lightning a bad omen. This child will be a child of darkness, she said, to which his mother replied: “No. He will be a child of light.” He later immigrated to the United States in 1884. 

2. Tesla's early education was in engineering and physics. He studied at the Austrian Polytechnic in Graz and later at the Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague.

3. Tesla began his career as an assistant to Thomas Edison and worked with him for a short period of time. However, he later had a falling out with Edison and left the company to pursue his own projects.

4. One of Tesla's most significant contributions was his work on the alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. He developed an alternating current motor which was more efficient than the existing direct current (DC) motor. This led to the widespread use of AC power, which is still used today to power homes and businesses.

5. Tesla also made significant contributions to the field of radio technology. He developed the Tesla coil, which is a high-frequency transformer that is still used.

6. Tesla was also a visionary and futurist. He had a deep understanding of the potential of science and technology to change the world, and his predictions about the future have been proven true in many ways.

7. Tesla held over 300 patents, including patents for the Tesla coil, the AC motor, and the system for wireless communication and remote control.

8. Despite his many contributions to science and technology, Tesla struggled financially throughout his life. He was often unable to secure funding for his projects and died penniless in a New City hotel room in 1943.

9. Tesla's legacy continues to inspire scientists and inventors around the world. His contributions to science and technology have had a lasting impact on society and the world we live in today.

10. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in Tesla and his work. Many of his inventions and ideas that were ahead of their time are now being revisited and developed further, such as wireless power transmission, and more recently, the development of electric vehicles.

In conclusion, Nikola Tesla was a brilliant scientist and inventor whose contributions to the field of electrical engineering, radio technology and other fields have had a profound impact on the world. His work and ideas continue to inspire future generations of scientists and inventors.

Finally, we are leaving you with suggestions of some books about Nikola Tesla: