Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Тесла; 10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943) was a Serbian-American[1][2][3] inventor, physicist, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, and futurist. He is best known for his contributions to the modern alternating current (AC) electrical supply system. Tesla's patents and theoretical work helped form the basis of wireless communication and radio. His many revolutionary developments in the field of electromagnetism were based on Michael Faraday's theories of electromagnetic technology.[4]

Born to Serbian parents in the village of Smiljan (present-day Croatia), Tesla was a subject of the Austrian Empire by birth and later became an American citizen.[5] Because of his 1894 demonstration of short range wireless communication through radio[6] and his contributions to the development of alternating current, the successful system in the "War of Currents", he was widely respected as one of the greatest electrical engineers who worked in America.[7] He pioneered modern electrical engineering and made numerous groundbreaking discoveries. In the United States during this time Tesla's fame rivaled that of any other inventor or scientist in history or popular culture.[8] Tesla demonstrated wireless energy transfer to power electronic devices in 1891[9] and aspired to achieve intercontinental wireless transmission of industrial power in his unfinished Wardenclyffe Tower project.[10]

In the 1930s, towards the end of his life, Tesla became reclusive, living alone in a New York City hotel room and only appearing occasionally to make unusual statements to the press.[11][12] Because of his pronouncements and the nature of his work over the years, Tesla gained a reputation in popular culture as the archetypal "mad scientist".[13][14] He died penniless and in debt on 7 January 1943.[15][16][17]

His work fell into relative obscurity after his death, but in 1960, in honor of Nikola Tesla the General Conference on Weights and Measures for the International System of Units dedicated the term "tesla" to the SI unit measure for magnetic field strength, and since the 1990s Tesla's reputation has experienced a comeback in popular culture.[18][19] In 2005, he was listed amongst the top 100 nominees in the TV show "The Greatest American", an open access popularity poll conducted by AOL and The Discovery Channel.[20]

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