Nikola Tesla: A Forgotten Inventor

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The remote control, radio, electric motor, and wireless communications are items we use on a daily basis. But would you believe they were all made by one man during 20TH century. Nikola Tesla, the inventors of these items, is now known by many the true inventor of the electrical age however he was often unnoticed during his lifetime due to his work being way ahead of his time. Nikola once said, “The present is theirs; The future, for which I work, is mine” and can finally be seen today since the innovations of this one man influenced numerous inventions that shaped our word today. Tesla was born in Smilijan, Croatia on July 10, 1856 to a priest and housewife/inventor. At the start of his education he immediately became a passionate student due to his older brother, who was thought to be a genius. However when Tesla was five years of age his brother died in a horsing accident, which he witnessed with his own eyes. After the incident Tesla often felt that his parents thought his success was nothing compared to his late brother, causing Nikola to have low self confidence at very young age. During Telsa’s teenage years, he became passionate about mathematics and science, and was set on becoming an engineer. However his father constantly insisted that he enter priesthood. At seventeen Tesla contracted Cholera, his father told Tesla that if he were to survive that he would be allowed to attend Austrian Polytechnic School at Graz to study engineering. While at college one of his professor told him that his idea of Motor powered by alternating currents (AC) would be impossible, so he spent most of his time trying to prove him wrong. His obsession of proving him wrong got so bad that his father often got letters from different professor... ... middle of paper ... ...nsive. Tesla did not get the money need to fund the project and a stock market crash only increased prices for the towers materials. So in 1905 Tesla and his team had to abandon the project. Tesla died in a New York hotel penniless in January 7, 1943 from a heart attack. During this time much of his work on a peace ray, also known as a death ray, disappeared, most believe that the US government took it. Hundreds showed up at his funeral including his good friends Mark Twain. Many spoke of a man with good intentions in his heart that the world would not let him carry out, nor would recognize. Within the years Tesla lived he created over 700 patents and a long list of innovations which he wanted to make but never did. Although Tesla received little attention during his time, today many groups are saving his work labs and keeping his dream alive for a better tomorrow.

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