Nikola Tesla, about whom Sir Albert Einstein once said, "The smartest man alive".
A physicist, inventor, electrical engineer and mechanical engineer; Nikola Tesla is regarded as one of the most important scientists ever lived in the world. Also known as "the father of alternating current electricity", he completely revolutionized the modern technology with his brilliant inventions. Hydroelectric Power Plant, Tesla Coil, Earthquake Machine, Wireless Telegraphy, Artificial Tidal Wave, Death Beam etc. are some of his other notable inventions. Here, we have gathered some interesting yet lesser-known facts about the American - Serbian scientist Tesla that you probably didn't know.
Nikola Tesla was born on 10th July, 1856 in Croatia during a lightning storm. It is said that during the childbirth, the midwife wrung Tesla's mother's hand and uttered, "The baby is going to be the child of darkness". But his mother replied, "No, he will be a child of light".
Interestingly, Tesla later contributed a lot into electric light through the alternating current system.
Nikola Tesla was a genius futurist who predicted a lot of devices long before they were made. You will be surprised to know that he envisioned the concept of smartphones in the year 1926.
Tesla was a genius since his childhood. He could solve difficult calculus problems in his mind when he was 17.
According to many, Tesla suffered from OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and used to practice several rituals and superstitions. He used to hate pearls and never talked with women wearing pearl jewelry. Also, he was obsessed with the number 3.
He had a photographic memory and could speak 8 languages including Serbo-Croatian, German, English, French, Italian, Hungarian, Czech and Latin.
Tesla and the renowned author Mark Twain were very close friends. In fact, Tesla once said that Twain's writings helped him to recover from his illness.
Renowned scientist Thomas Edison offered him 50,000 US dollars to improve the design of a generator. When Tesla completed the task, Edison stole it and didn't pay him by saying that it was just a joke.
Nikola Tesla, along with Alfred Brown, founded the Tesla Electric Company in 1887.
Although we don't know much about Tesla's personal life, it is known that he was a very fashionable man. He was tall, handsome and always used to dress very well. While he did not marry as he thought that this would distract him from his works, a lot of women confessed their love to him.
Despite of being an incredible inventor, Nikola Tesla never won a Nobel prize.
Tesla's experiments and inventions led the development of modern technology in 20th century. Even today, his works are being used in several fields such as florescent lighting, radio, television, x-ray machines and a lot more.
