Trials and Tribulations of a great mind

Tesla started pitching his idea of the alternating current system in Europe, but was turned away.  So Tesla decided to try his luck in America and pitch his idea to the pioneer of electrical engineering of the time Thomas Edison.  When Tesla told Edison that he could improve upon his direct current system, Edison laughed and told Tesla he would give him $50,000 if he made up a design.  To Edison's surprise, Tesla actually did create the plans of an alternating current system to show Edison, eager to collect his reward.  Edison revealed to Tesla that the money was a joke, which angered Tesla enough to break off his partnership with Edison.  Luckily Tesla found a investor called Mr. A.K. Brown, who gave Tesla enough resources to create a working prototype.  What Tesla found to be his biggest problem was getting the alternating current system to market because Thomas Edison was competing with direct current.  Edison used his resources to pay for a campaign that depicted the damages alternating current did on household pets.  This kept Tesla out of the riches he deserved, but his luck changed when the bid for Chicago's World Fair.  Tesla was able to underbid the project half the price of Edison's and revealed to the world how much more efficient his alternating current system was than direct current.

A news clipping of Nikola Tesla's Alternating Current system.