Nikola Tesla was an 18th and 19th-century great inventor. His interest in electricity and devotion to research helped him obtain 300 patents worldwide. Even today, his inventions are widely used in modern technologies. Thanks to Tesla, we are able to use electricity so efficiently and effortlessly. However, his goal of wireless transmission of electricity remains an unachievable dream even in the 21st century. Here are 15 Interesting and fascinating Facts and Information about the great scientist Nikola Tesla.
1. Nikola Tesla was born and raised in Croatia. In 1884, he moved to the United States and acquired citizenship in 1891.
2. Tesla never got married or had children. He credited his single life for being more focused and creative.
3. The only brother of Tesla was killed in a horse riding accident when Tesla just turned five.
4. Tesla finished his 4-year graduation in 3 years at the age of 17. During his graduation, he learned and practiced calculus so rigorously that he was able to mentally solve difficult calculus problems. Due to this, some of his teachers suspected him of being a cheater.
5. Cholera struck Nikola Tesla shortly after graduation, putting him on bed rest for nine months and putting him in danger of dying multiple times.
6. In 1882, Tesla got a job in Paris in Thomas Edison’s company where he obtained a significant amount of practical knowledge in electrical engineering.
7. “This is a damned good man” was the words Edison said about Nikola Tesla after meeting him for the first time.
8. In 1887, Tesla created an AC induction motor that became well-known worldwide due to its high-voltage and long-distance transmission benefits.
9. In 1888, a company named Westinghouse hired Tesla as a consultant for an impressive salary of $2,000 (approx. $60,000 today) per month.
10. At the end of the 19th century, there was a ‘war of currents’ between Thomas Edison’s Direct Current (DC) and Nikola Tesla’s Alternating Current (AC).
11. Edison warned people against using Tesla's alternating current and claimed it was harmful. Tesla allowed high-voltage energy to travel through him to power various electric appliances in order to win people's trust.
12. In 1897, Westinghouse and Thomas Edison’s company jointly bought Tesla’s patent (AC induction motor) for a huge amount of $216,000 (approx. $6.5 million today).
13. The electric car company ‘Tesla’ and the SI unit of magnetic flux density ‘Tesla’ are named after Nikola Tesla.
14. Tesla had over 300 patents on his name in more than two dozen countries. Even though, many of his inventions were not patented.
15. There was once a persistent rumor that Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison received the 1915 Physics Nobel Prize.