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person1856–1943

Nikola Tesla

Disciplines:
physics
invention
electronics/electricity
ac power

Summary

Serbian-American inventor — who developed alternating current (AC) electrical systems, the Tesla coil, the induction motor, and made fundamental contributions to radio — whose work enabled the electrification of the world but who died penniless and alone.

Core Contribution

Creates the AC power system that powers the world — Tesla's alternating current (in partnership with Westinghouse) defeated Edison's direct current in the War of the Currents, enabling the long-distance electrical transmission that made modern electrical infrastructure possible.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • Had an eidetic memory and performed all calculations mentally — claimed to build, test, and modify inventions entirely in his mind before constructing them, running mental simulations of mechanical wear and failure modes
  • Developed extreme OCD symptoms over his life — obsessive counting (of steps, chews, repetitions divisible by 3), phobia of round objects, requirement to calculate the cubic volume of all food before eating; his genius and mental illness were inseparable
  • Genuinely believed he could split the Earth with a mechanical oscillator — his most ambitious theories (free wireless transmission of power, earthquake machine) were scientifically plausible in concept but practically impractical; the line between visionary and delusional was genuinely blurry in his case

Notable Works & Achievements

My Inventions

Numerous patents

Historical Influences

Thomas Edison Johann Wolfgang Goethe

Intellectual Lineage

Smiljan, CroatiaGraz Polytechnic and Prague UniversityEdison Machine Works, New YorkWestinghouse Electric

Contemporaries & Peers

Thomas Edison George Westinghouse J.P. Morgan

Minds Influenced

Electrical engineering

Intellectual Posterity

Tesla Tesla MotorsAC power systemTesla coil

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