Tesla was born to Serbian parents on the 10th of July, 1856 in the village of Smiljan, part of the Austrian Empire (now Croatia). He died on the 7th of January, 1943 in room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel.

After an eventful upbringing and education, Tesla moved to France in 1882 where he worked on electrical equipment at the Continental Edison Company.

He immigrated to the USA in 1884 where he worked for Thomas Edison before resigning a year later to work on his own projects.

Tesla went on to patent many of his inventions, including his AC induction motor and transformer which he licensed to George Westinghouse.

Tesla, Westinghouse and Edison were at the heart of the so called ‘war of the currents’ between alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) as a means of distributing electrical power.

Tesla was known for high voltage experiments and demonstrations, including displays of his famous Tesla Coil which produces high voltage, low current electricity.

In 1891, Tesla became a citizen of the United States.

Tesla was the vice president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers between 1892 and 1894.

Tesla experimented with X-rays and radio waves, developing important ideas and even making a few accidental discoveries thanks to his extravagant experiments.

Tesla moved his lab to Colorado Springs in 1899 where he proved the Earth was a conductor, produced artificial lightning and became well known to his neighbors with ambitious electrical experiments that caused booming thunder, rogue sparks and the occasional power outage.

Tesla later worked on the Wardenclyffe Tower (or Tesla Tower), a wireless transmission tower that was never completed.

Tesla moved to the New Yorker Hotel in 1934 where he continued his research and spent the remaining years of his life before dying in 1943 at the age of 86.

The electric car manufacturer Tesla Inc. was named after Nikola Tesla.

Famous Nikola Tesla quotes include: “Nature may reach the same result in many ways.”

“Money does not represent such a value as men have placed upon it. All my money has been invested into experiments with which I have made new discoveries enabling mankind to have a little easier life.”

“The scientific man does not aim at an immediate result. He does not expect that his advanced ideas will be readily taken up. His work is like that of the planter - for the future. His duty is to lay the foundation for those who are to come, and point the way. He lives and labors and hopes.”

“Of all things I liked books best.”