Nikola Tesla was a Siberian American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist and futurist that is best known for his designs of our modern alternating current electricity supply system. Tesla began working for Thomas Edison in 1884 in New York City. Soon after working for Edison, Tesla struck out on his own and setup his own laboratories and companies to develop a wide range of electrical devices.
Tesla would be caught up in a number of patent battles but continued to pursue his ideas of wireless electronics. He even believed that there would be possibilities of wireless communications, which we all take advantage of today. He was unsuccessful in trying to put these ideas to practical use, although he was first to ever show a wireless controlled boat.
Tesla earned the reputation of being a “mad scientist” because of his ideas and showmanship. He was able to earn a considerable amount of money from his patents which he used to fund his other projects. His projects had a varying amount of success. He lived most of his life in a series of hotel rooms. His ideas fell into obscurity after his death in 1943, but have seen a resurgence of interest since the 1990’s. We dedicate a star to Tesla whose ideas just seemed to be a bit ahead of their time. The world would not be what it is today without the contributions of Nikola Tesla.
