Nikola Tesla was born in 1856 in Smiljan, Lika of
the
Austro-Hungarian Empire (today's Croatia). Tesla's father was Milutin
Tesla, an
orthodox priest whom loved both poetry and literature. He kept an
extensive
library where Tesla would spend many hours of his childhood. Tesla's
mother,
Djuka, worked hard as an inventor, creating appliances that would help
in
household chores. Tesla would tie his inventive nature to his mother's.
Tesla
had four siblings; a older brother Dane, and three sisters, Milka,
Angelica, and Marika . Unfortunately his brother Dane died in a
horse-riding
accident when Tesla was five.
Tesla's Father
Tesla at age 23, c. 1879
http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_early.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tesla_young.jpg
Tesla's passion was originally in physics and
mathematics
and he always dreamed of being an engineer. Despite his father's wishes
to enter
priesthood, Tesla entered the prestigious Austrian Polytechnic School
at Graz.
At the Polytechnic school, Tesla became fascinated with electrical
engineering
and would entertain his professor's with unique ideas. Although some
people
believe that Tesla graduated from the university at Graz, the
university claims
he did not continue past his first semester of his third year. Shortly
after
leaving the university in 1881, Tesla settled in Maribor (today's
Slovenia) and
was hired as an assistant engineer for one year. During this time,
Tesla
underwent his first nervous breakdown.
From a young age, Tesla was known to have a very
photographic memory. He would envision vivid flashes of childhood
memories, new
inventions, or moments of inspiration. Throughout his studies, he would
conduct
all calculations in his head, which often led instructors to think of
him as a
"cheater". He would memorize books word for word and recite them
while on walks. These abilities were the foundations of many of his
inventions,
including one of the most well-known, the induction motor.
"One
afternoon, which is ever present in my recollection, I was enjoying a
walk with
my friend in the city park and reciting poetry. At that age I knew
entire books
by heart, word for word. One of these was Goethe's Faust. The
sun was
just setting and reminded me of a glorious passage:
The
glow retreats, done is the day of toil;
It yonder haste, new fields of life exploring;
Ah, that no wing can lift me from the soil
Upon its track to follow, follow soaring!
As
I uttered these inspiring words the idea came like a flash of lightning
and in
an instant the truth was revealed. I drew with a stick on the sand the
diagram
shown six years later in my address before the American Institute of
Electrical
Engineers."[01]
Patent for Electromagnetic Induction Motor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RMFpatent.PNG
