18561943

Nikola Tesla (July 10, 1856 – January 7, 1943) was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist known for pioneering contributions to the development of alternating current (AC) electrical systems. Born in Smiljan, then part of the Austrian Empire (modern-day Croatia), Tesla studied engineering at the Graz Polytechnic in Austria and later worked in Budapest and Paris before emigrating to the United States in 1884.

In America, Tesla briefly worked for Thomas Edison before pursuing his own research. He developed and patented key components of the polyphase AC power system, including AC generators, motors, and transformers. His work underpinned long-distance electrical power transmission and formed the basis of modern electrical grids, contributing to the eventual dominance of AC over direct current (the War of Currents).

Tesla also conducted early experiments in high-frequency currents and wireless transmission. The Tesla coil, introduced in 1891, became a foundational device for studying radio frequency phenomena and remains associated with his name. He pursued ambitious projects such as wireless communication and wireless power transmission, and he engaged in the Wardenclyffe Tower project on Long Island, funded by financier J. P. Morgan, which aimed to provide global wireless power but was never completed.

During his life Tesla held numerous patents—over 300—and influenced fields ranging from electric power engineering to radio technology. He died in New York City in 1943, leaving a legacy as a pioneering innovator whose ideas helped shape late 19th- and early 20th-century technology. Tesla's reputation has grown in popular culture as a symbol of inventive genius and futuristic thinking.