By Joao Martins
Born in July 1856 in what is now Croatia, Nikola Tesla developed his interest in electronics at a very young age after constantly watching his mother build small household appliances. After getting his electrical engineering degree at the Polytechnic institute in Graz, Austria, Tesla moved to Budapest and starting working at the Central Telephone Exchange. Tesla began having ideas for many new inventions, but after failing to acquire the necessary funding do develop them, Tesla decided to leave Europe and move to America. Upon reaching The United States in 1885, Tesla was hired by famous inventor Thomas Edison. They worked alongside each other for a few months but Tesla ultimately quit after having conflicting interests. Tesla, however, now had enough money to start his own company, which he called the Tesla Electric Company. Tesla now had the necessary funding he needed and in 1887, he successfully filed many patents for his Alternating Current based inventions.
Tesla new Alternating Current (AC) system was seen as a better alternative for providing long distance power, as opposed to Edison's Direct Current (DC). People began investing in Tesla's AC systems so Edison created a negative-press campaign in attempt to stop Tesla. This, however, did not work and Tesla and his team were chosen to design the first AC Hydroelectric Power Plant at the Niagara Falls. The power plant was a huge success and AC technology quickly became the better choice for providing electrical power, which is still used world wide to this day.
Source:
http://www.biography.com/people/nikola-tesla-9504443
It's surprising how many students are unaware that Nikola even exists! When people discuss the history of electricity, many only know of Thomas Edison and the light bulb. Few realize that Nikola's ideas have led to inventions such as the x-ray, radio or electric motor, all which have changed the world. Interesting history post and good to see the recognition he deserves.
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