Nikola Tesla’s 154th Birthday

Nikola Tesla was born on July 10th, 1856. Tesla is quite the fascinating figure in American history. Tesla was known for being an eccentric figure and brilliant inventor. Unfortunately he did not get credit for many of his inventions, and was often overshadowed by more well-known inventors of the time.
Born to Serbian parents in the Austrian Empire, Tesla became an American citizen at the age of 35 and lived much of his life in New York, usually living out of various hotels.
Some of his credits include breakthroughs in radio transmission, X-Ray technology and an alternating current electricity supply system. In his lifetime, Tesla acquired around 300 patents for his inventions. He had patents for his invention of the electro magnet motor, the means for generating electric current and an electrical circuit controller, just to name a few. He spent a good portion of his life attempting to create an intercontinental wireless transmission, to no avail. He worked for some time under Thomas Edison, who he later accused of stealing his ideas and underpaying him.
Tesla never married and had no documented relationships. While living in New York in the late 1800’s it has been documented that Tesla was a stylish figure, standing at 6’2, very thin and well-dressed. Tesla was considered to be well manicured and quite fashionable, and as the story goes he had quite a few female admirers, but chose his work to be his life’s focus.
Tesla stated in numerous interviews that he rarely slept, and that he preferred short naps to an actual full night’s sleep, preferring instead to work late into the night. His inventions and showmanship gained him popularity in the world of science. He was well-liked by many of his colleagues, and gave him a reputation of being somewhat of a “mad scientist.”
One of his many well-known inventions was named the “Tesla Coil,” which he invented around 1891, and is still used today. The coil is used to create high frequency alternating-current electricity by producing low-current, high voltage. This is only one of his many inventions that made Tesla a well known name.
In lieu of human companionship, Tesla took to feeding and caring for pigeons across the street from the New Yorker Hotel, where he lived for the last portion of his life. Tesla hinted in his later years that he had regret about never marrying. There was a particular pigeon that he was fond of, and he was quoted as saying: “I have been feeding pigeons, thousands of them for years. But there was one, a beautiful bird, pure white with light grey tips on its wings; that one was different. It was a female. I had only to wish and call her and she would come flying to me. I loved that pigeon as a man loves a woman, and she loved me. As long as I had her, there was a purpose to my life.”
In 1943 at the age of 86, Tesla died at the New Yorker Hotel. He was found by a hotel maid. At the time of his death Nikola Tesla was said to be penniless.
Oddly enough in the 1990’s there was resurgence in the popularity of Tesla. Books were written about him, and he was on the covers of magazines. In the 2012 he even had a car named after him. “Tesla Motors” use the same AC motor that Tesla invented.
 

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