Nikola Tesla was a man ahead of his time. His advancements in electricity were radical, helping to usher in the modern age, with his influence seen in anything from X-rays to remote control.
His World Wireless System had the potential to advance technology by nearly a century, while also providing free energy to the globe. Unlike so many of his era, Tesla did not work for financial gain, instead of working to advance humanity.
Perhaps it is not surprising that a man so far ahead of his time has only found his place in the 21st century, an age shaped by his technological brilliance.
Nikola Tesla (10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943) was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.
Born and raised in the Austrian Empire, Tesla studied engineering and physics in the 1870s without receiving a degree, gaining practical experience in the early 1880s working in telephony and at Continental Edison in the new electric power industry.
In 1884 he emigrated to the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen. He worked for a short time at the Edison Machine Works in New York City before he struck out on his own. With the help of partners to finance and market his ideas, Tesla set up laboratories and companies in New York to develop a range of electrical and mechanical devices.
His alternating current (AC) induction motor and related polyphase AC patents, licensed by Westinghouse Electric in 1888, earned him a considerable amount of money and became the cornerstone of the polyphase system which that company eventually marketed.
