Nikola Tesla
The inhabitants of the small Croatian village of Smiljan, in the heart of Lika, on that July 10, 1856, certainly could not even dream that one of the greatest minds in the history of mankind, from the beginning of time to the present day, was born on that very day in that small town. Then the man whose inventions changed the world, Nikola Tesla, was born.
It is especially worth pointing out in the context of the legend that the famous Tesla was born during a strong storm with lots of lightning. The locals called it bad luck, but it turned out to be the complete opposite, because it is. it seems that this lightning night determined the life calling of this genius.
Unfortunately, today, when we often take his inventions, without which our current lifestyle would be unimaginable, for granted, many instead of his magnificent works put arguments about his nationality, so it is necessary to say a few words about it.
The situation here is clear and we certainly have every right to call him a Croatian inventor.
His ancestors lived in Croatia for centuries, and the fact that they were of the Orthodox faith does not in any way determine nationality. Also, Tesla called himself a son of the Croatian homeland, for which there is historical evidence.
In the archive of the National and University Library in Zagreb, there is an original copy of Narodne novina, number 120 from May 25, 1892, which conveys Tesla’s words during his visit to Zagreb.
He came to Zagreb at the invitation of the Zagreb mayor to give a lecture on the electrification of Zagreb. Among other things, he said that he considers it his duty, as a native son of his country, to help the City of Zagreb in every way with advice and actions, and that in case of any technical difficulties, he will help as best he knows how, without any compensation.
Download the original copy of the text from Narodne novine here.
Numerous other sourced evidence related to his family tree, origins, professional development and activities can be found here.
What surrounds Nikola Tesla is certainly the fact that he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, inventor of all time. He worked in radio engineering and electrical engineering, and is best known for the invention of the multiphase alternating current system, as well as for the rotating magnetic field.
The alternating current system almost completely displaced Edison’s concept of direct current, which was the most prevalent until then. Nikola Tesla successfully proved that his use of alternating current is just as safe as the use of direct current, but enables mass production and easy distribution over long distances. Thus, Tesla laid the foundation for almost all technical achievements and in a way turned the course of history.
Tesla’s alternating current system was chosen for the construction of the world’s first hydroelectric power plant, at Niagara Falls, and it is interesting that thanks to Tesla, the first hydroelectric power plant in Europe and the second in the world was built in Croatia, Nikola Tesla’s homeland, on the Krka River. It was put into operation only three (according to some sources two) days after the world’s first hydroelectric power plant was put into operation, which once again proves that throughout history Croatia has really kept up with the world’s highest technical achievements.
Tesla has applied for hundreds of patents related to alternating current, and they are still used unchanged in modern devices and account for about 90% of the world’s electricity production.
Tesla’s ultimate goal was to prove to the world that global wireless transmission of electricity is possible, but he was unable to realize it as he had imagined in his lifetime. Regardless, the Chicago Tribune enthusiastically wrote about Tesla’s experiment, which he wanted to show that it was possible to transmit electricity wirelessly.
This experiment, which today looks more like a scene from a science fiction film than an actual event, was described in detail in the once very popular daily newspaper and before the visitors of the great World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893.
In his hands, he held glass tubes that suddenly light up, and as he does so, he lets an incredible 200,000 volts of lightning flash across his body. “After such an amazing test (…) Mr. Tesla’s body and clothing would continue to emit a fine shimmer or halo of fragmented light for some time,” reports the Chicago Tribune.
He invented Tesla and the first functional electromagnetic motor. The modern electric motors found in today’s electric cars are direct descendants of his invention, therefore it is not surprising that one of the world’s largest multinational companies and a giant in the production of electric cars, Tesla Motors, was named after the famous Tesla from Lika, Croatia .
Nikola Tesla is also a pioneer in x-ray research. In 1894, he started researching what we now call x-rays or X-rays, named in honor of Wilhelm Röntgen, the one who discovered x-rays, which, parallel to him, was also researched by Tesla on the other side of the world. Tesla is also the author of one of the first images obtained by x-rays, which he sent to Röntgen, giving him credit for the discovery. For this picture, Tesla was the model for himself, and he took a picture of his own foot. Tesla’s research in this field was significantly slowed down by a fire in his laboratory in 1895, and who knows, without that fire, Tesla might have been the first in this field. But regardless, he was the first with numerous other inventions, some of which are less well known.
He invented, among other things, the radio, he was the first to demonstrate remote control, back in 1898, neon lighting, some call him the father of robotics, because some consider his remote-controlled ship to be one of the first robots.
About his patents and inventions, it would be necessary to write a whole book, for which perhaps the opportunity will arise in the future.
Tesla was an interesting man of many interests. He was a fan of the world boxing champion, named Fritzie Zivic, nicknamed the Croatian comet, who set the record for the most attended event in the famous Madison Square Garden, and he was also friends with Marijan Matijević, the strongest man in the world, who held for him several donor events to help develop Tesla’s inventions.
Towards the end of his life, he lived modestly, and died on January 7, 1943 in New York, leaving behind him priceless riches in the form of inventions that changed the world.