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Birth Of Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla is born on July 10, 1856 at midnight, ironically during a lightning storm. -
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Nikola Tesla Life and Works
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Tesla Contracts Cholera
Tesla contracts Cholera, and is bedridden for almost 9 months. Close to death, his father promises to send him to the best technological school in Europe if he survives, which he does. -
Tesla Enrolls in Austrian Polytechnic
Going through with his promise, Tesla's father sends him to Austrian Polytechnic in Graz. It is there that Tesla's great interest in AC motors is sparked. -
Odd Jobs Around Europe
From 1878 to 1884, after dropping out of Austrian Polytechnic, Tesla works a mixed assortment of jobs in Prague, Budapest and Paris, among others. All the while he is continuing to further develop his AC Motor, and collect enough money to move to America. -
Coming To America
After saving up money and receiving some more from his uncles, Tesla has enough to leave Europe and come to America. The day after he arrives he meets with Thomas Edison and is hired by the electrical mastermind. -
Tesla Leaves Menlo Park
After Edison falls back on his word of giving Tesla $50,000 if he improves Edison's D.C. Dynamo, Tesla quits to start his own electric company on Liberty Street. -
Early Work With X-Rays
7 years before Willhelm Rontgen was credited with the invention of the x-ray, Tesla began work on an x-ray machine of his own. He is credited with taking teh first x-ray pictures in the United States, and showing later scientists the dangers of x-ray machines. -
Tesla Signs With Westinghouse
After leaving Edison and starting his own company, Tesla greatly struggles to find investors for his company. However, he finally strikes a deal with George Westinghouse, agreeing to hand over his patents to Westinghouse Electric for $1,000,000 and $2.50 for every horsepower generated using one of Tesla's motors. -
Tesla Invents Tesla Coil
Nikola Tesla invents the Tesla Coil, an impressive machine. It was able to dramatically change voltage, something that transformers of the time couldn't do. He used it in many of his projects in the wireless transmission of power, including Colorado Springs and Wardenclyffe Tower. -
Edison Ad Campaigns
From 1890 to 1894 Thomas Edison and J.P. Morgan run ad campaigns trying to show the public the dangers of A.C. power. This includes electrocuting an elephant to death and the first death of a prisoner using the electric chair, which ran on A.C. power. -
Chicago World's Fair Opens
After both General Electric and Westinghouse Electric put in bids to light up the Chicago World's Fair, Westinghouse and Tesla are chosen because of the cost-effectiveness of their bid. When President Grover Cleveland flipped the switch to illuminate the World's Fair, the world was officially thrown into A.C. power. -
Niagara Contract Awarded
After receiving the job for the World's Fair, Westinghouse and Tesla later recieve the job for Niagara Falls, a project that Tesla was dreaming of since he was a little boy. -
Niagara Powers Nearby Buffalo
After receiving the job to power Niagara Falls, Tesla goes to work on the project. After five years it is finished and powers nearby Buffalo. A few years later it would power all of New York City. -
Colorado Springs Experiment
After the success of past projects, Tesla was eager to go into the unknown field of transmitting power wirelesly. He started his work in Colorado and stayed there for nine months. -
Tesla Files Patent For Early Radio
Nikola Tesla's patents filed in 1897 were finally approved in 1900. Guglielmo Marconi's filed patents that were filed over the next few years were all rejected until 1903. -
Tesla, Morgan, and Wardenclyffe
Following his experiments in Colorado, Tesla is eager to continue his work on the wireless transmission of power. So he signs a deal with J.P. Morgan, and within a few months begins contstruction on Warednclyffe Tower. -
Nikola Tesla Patents Revoked
Up until 1903, all of Guglielmo Marconi's attempts at filing a patent for his radio machine were denied beacuse they were too similar to Tesla's patents. However, Tesla was shocked to find out that in 1903 that Marconi's patents had finally been approved. -
Wardenclyffe Tower Foreclosed
After finishing the build and beginning testing in 1903, J.P. Morgan refuses to give Tesla any more money. Tesla can find no more investers, and Wardenclyffe Tower is soon after foreclosed on. The failure of the project stays with Morgan for the rest of his life. -
Tesla Shares Nobel Prize With Edison?
On November 6th, newspaper articles surface that Tesla and Edison are to share a Nobel Prize. However, the next day the Nobel Committee declares that William Henry Bragg and his son had won. Some people say that either Tesla or Edison refused the prize because of their animocity, or they were never offered the prize at all. -
Tesla Ironically Receives Edison Medal
After previously rejecting the Edison Medal, Tesla finally accepts the Medal. However, when he was supposed to give his acceptance speech, he disappeared and was later found at the local library feeding the pigeons. -
Tesla is Honored By Time Magazine
In honor of his 75th birthday, Tesla is put on the cover of Time Magazine, and many other scientists, including Albert Einstein, send in letters congratulating Tesla on his lifetime of work. -
Tesla's "Death Ray"
In A New York Times article, Tesla claims that he has invented a weapon that will make war impossible. A few years later he meets with the United States government and other countries to see if anyone will finance the construction of such a machine, but there are no takers. -
Nikola Tesla Dies
On January 7th Nikola Tesla dies, and people all around the world mourn. His eulogy is later read on live air by NYC mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. -
Supreme Court Gives Tesla Patents Back
A few months after Nikola Tesla's death, the Supreme Court stripped Guglielmo Marconi of his patents and gave Nikola Tesla his back. However, this probably only came because Marconi's company was suing the U.S. government, and stripping the patents was much easier than going to court.