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How Did Nikola Tesla Influence America

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On July 10, 1856 the world was blessed with one of the most innovative minds mankind had ever known. Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla was a revolutionary scientist whose ideas in the field of electrical engineering changed the life of the American people forever. From humble beginnings the Serbian immigrant traveled to the United States where his brilliance landed him in the presence of such powerful American businessmen as Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse and J.P. Morgan. While Tesla displayed a keen ability to visualize and create the ideas in his mind, he never developed a desire for wealth, other than to fund his life’s work. As a result, he failed to keep patents on many of his inventions and ultimately became an unrecognizable penniless …show more content…

Nikola Tesla helped shape America through his invention of the alternating current power distribution system, wireless transmission of electricity, radio broadcast and many other contributions that are still in use and influence technology today. Nikola Tesla was born to a Serbian family in Smiljan, Croatia, then the Austrian Empire. His father was a priest in the Serbian Orthodox church and pushed young Nikola to join the priesthood while his mother worked the family farm. Tesla’s passion for electrical invention was influenced by his mother, as she would spend her free time creating small household appliances while her kids were growing up. He was the fourth of five children with one older brother and three older sisters. In 1861, he attended primary school where he studied German, arithmetic and religion. The Tesla family moved to the town of Gospić, not far from Smiljan, in 1862 where Nikola completed primary school and continued on to the “Lower Real Gymnasium” or “Normal …show more content…

After his son nearly died multiple times, Tesla’s father vowed to send him to the most prestigious engineering school if he recovered. In 1874, Tesla evaded being drafted into the Austrian Army by fleeing into the mountains around Tomingaj. He said that this contact with nature made him stronger and he read many book’s claiming that Mark Twain’s work had cured him of his previous illness. The following year Nikola Tesla enrolled at the Joaneum Polytechnic School in Graz which was one of only four schools for higher education in Austria. “Though the school offered a course of study in civil engineering, Tesla initially enrolled in mathematics and physics, with the intention of becoming a professor” (Carlson 34). The first year there he never missed a lecture, earned the highest possible grades, and passed nine exams which were almost twice as many required. He also started a Serbian culture club and received a letter of commendation from the dean of the technical faculty to his father, which stated, “Your son is a star of first rank.” At this time, Tesla was extremely devoted to his studies and claimed to have studied from 3 a.m. to 11 p.m., with no Sundays or holidays expected. After the death of his father in 1879, Tesla found a package of letter from his professors to his father, warning that unless he was removed from school, he would end up working himself to

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