Nikola Tesla was born on 10 July 1856 to Serbian parents in what is now Croatia.
He was an engineer and a scientist whose inventions include the Tesla coil, still used in radio technology, the alternating-current (AC) electric system, which is the predominant electrical system used across the world today, and the discovery of the rotating magnetic field.
He pioneered many of the technologies that shaped the second half of the 20th century, most of which were officially patented by other inventors.
Though he was famous and respected, he was never able to translate his work into long-term financial success, unlike his early employer and chief rival, Thomas Edison.
They had briefly worked together, when Tesla went to the United States in 1884, but their relationship was conflicting, due to their incredibly different personalities: Edison focused on marketing and financial success, while Tesla was commercially vulnerable-.
Though Tesla holds 112 lifetime U.S. patents, he died penniless and in relative obscurity.
He spoke seven languages, had a photographic memory, and could memorize entire books. He was able to visualise complete diagrams of inventions, working only from memory, without drawing them.
His unusual habits and strange behaviour were often minimized by his fans, who thought they were the mere eccentricities of a creative genius, and ridiculed by his critics, who considered him to be completely insane. However, his eccentricities have become as legendary as his discoveries in the field of electricity.
For example, Tesla required little sleep, and is reported once to have worked 84 hours straight without stopping to eat or rest. He claimed never to sleep more than two hours per night, but admitted to dozing from time to time to recharge his batteries.
He compulsively squished his toes one hundred times for each foot every night, saying that it stimulated his brain cells.
He had an obsession with pigeons. Later in his life, Tesla went to parks in New York City, and rescued injured pigeons, nursing them back to health.
When he took up residence at the Hotel New Yorker, where he spent the last ten years of his life, he had the hotel chef prepare a special mix of seed (which he hoped to commercialize) for his pigeons-
Tesla was tall and thin, and calculated the volume of every meal he ate and often expressed disgust for overweight people: once he fired a secretary because of her weight.
He was a vegetarian and eventually developed strange theories about the best human diet. In his final years he dined on milk and honey, believing that this was the purest form of food. Therefore he lost an enormous amount of weight and looked quite ghastly by the early 1940s.
His obsessive compulsive disorder compelled him to count the steps as he walked, and to repeat some activities so that the repetitions were divisible by three, including only inhabiting a hotel room that was divisible by the number three. Tesla died in Room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel on 7 January1943.
Image Pixabay (Nikola Tesla – illustration on the Serbian Dinara)
Wow…che uomo!
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Strano, vero?!? Ma un genio
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Another classic example of the delicate dviding line between genius and madness!
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You’re absolutely right: that’s what I think too
Have a nice weekend, dear Tony
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It sounds like Tesla was a brilliant but tortured man. I hope he is resting in peace.
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[…] Tesla’s Obsessions […]
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Thanks for linking and reblogging this on your website
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A Genius, without a doubt. 👍🙏💖
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A real one!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Molto interessante, buon fine settimana Luisa cara 🌼💗🌼💗🌼
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Grazie di cuore, Dani cara
Buon sabato a te 🌺🌺🌺
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He was the man with exceptional qualities that we don’t even know yet.
Pure Genius ❣
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I totally agree with you!
Thank you for your great observation 💜
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🙌
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There’s a fine line between genius and insanity. Oscar Levant.
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👍
Thank you for leaving a comment 🙏
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Genio e strambo…proprio come lo stereotipo che spesso abbiamo.
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Genio e follia sono contigui, e a volte sconfinano
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E già… 🙂
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That was an interesting read. Thank you Luisa. I learnt a lot about Tesla in your article, and much more than other accounts of him. Fascinating! Sadly, it seems to be a common experience for geniuses to die penniless and relatively unknown for the unique gifts they once possessed. Hope your weekend is going well. Blessings always, Deborah.
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Molto molto interessante, 🙂.
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Grazie, cara Eleonora! Buon pomeriggio ❤
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☺️, buona serata, 😘.
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A truly visionary, and a great man, was born on this day. Lovely post Luisa.
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He was truly great!
Thank you for your nice comment: 🙂 I’m glad you stopped by, Sophia!
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Fascinating. I learned so much about Tesla from reading this.
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Thank you very much, dear Pat !! I am very pleased that you enjoyed the read and appreciate you saying so! 🙏😘🙏
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My pleasure. 🌹🌹🌹
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[…] Tesla’s Obsessions […]
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What a fabulous post Luisa. I knew virtually nothing about the man, but I do now. Thank you.
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Unfortunately this genius (apart from his eccentricities) is not well known💜🙏💜
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Strange isn’t it how some people become famous and others don’t, and quite often their abilities don’t come into it.
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Some people succeed in selling themselves
better than other people,. who are more naive and perhaps more honest
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And perhaps they don’t want to be famous
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Who knows?
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From February 1944 to the end of the war in Europe, Trump was the Director of the BBRL. In early 1943, two days after the death of Nikola Tesla, the Federal Bureau of Investigation ordered the Office of Alien Property Custodian to seize Tesla’s belongings.
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Thank you very much
I read they confiscated his papers and declared them “top secret,” in part because Tesla had worked on a “death ray”, a weapon to end all wars.
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💜 Wasn’t interested in money (pun definitely intended); neither should YOU!!! Be EveryOne
…💛💚💙…
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What a genius with an interesting personality! Thank you for sharing this with us.
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Thank you for taking the time to read! I really appreciate your kind words and I am glad you liked it! Have a happy weekend
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Genio e follia vanno spesso a braccetto!!!! 🙂
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Hai ragione
Buon pomeriggio!!!!
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Wow 😮 Similar to Howard Hughes. Isn’t always the marketing and financial system that propels some and other geniuses get marginalized or mistreated only to be “discovered” after death
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I agree with your opinion and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this post, Jay.
.I appreciate it very much.🙏🙏🙏
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LUISA VERY FASCINATING THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS STORY WITH US 📚🎁
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I appreciate your kindness, SAM! Thanks for your lovely comment 😘😘😘
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LUISA, NOW YOU’RE GOING TO TEASE ME YES? BY THE WAY WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME ? YOU KNOW I’M ANN NOW !!!! 😃😘
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My full name is Luisa Maria Grazia , but fortunately it appears on very few official documents otherwise my signature would have to be very long😘😘😘
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HELLO LMGZ YOU’RE A VERY AMAZING LADY AND I THANK YOU EVERYDAY FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND KNOWLEDGE, KINDNESS AND CONFIDENCE YOU HAVE BESTOWED UPON ME 🆕️🆓️🌏🌍🌎🎨🎶📚🐩⚘🤝
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A big hug 😘😘😘
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🥂🧚♀️💜🧚♂️💛👡🧡💚🥂
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One of my favorite scientists, his great ingenuity laid the very much foundation of modern day world, great post Luisa 😀🧭
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Grateful that you think so. Thank you for reading and for your beautiful thoughts on that great scientist.
I am so happy you liked my post.🙏💜🙏
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Personaggio geniale e molto particolare oserei dire un pò folle…
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Era sicuramente un genio /e rasentava a volte la follia)
Buona serata, Giusy cara
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Buona serata anche a te 😉
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Thank you for sharing this fascinating life story. Tesla spent a little time in Colorado Springs (where I now live) in 1899, conducting experiments with electricity during lightning storms. Dangerous work! I often wonder how different his life would have been if he his theories had been accepted instead of Edison’s.
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That’s a question I often think about too!
Thank you , Tanja, for your kind words and for sharing your thoughts here.
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He’s definitely a weird person! A genius of course, but weird nonetheless
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I’m really glad that you liked this post and thank you for sharing your thoughts here.🙏
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You’re welcome 😊
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🌷🙏♥️So happy to read this Great story 👍🏻🌹Great knowledge for us 🌷🙏♥️👌😊
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Thanks so much dear friend
I’m pleased to know that you enjoyed the post. Sending love and best wishes 💗⭐️.
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Thank you a lot and most welcome 🙏🌷♥️😊
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Wow, nice one👍
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Thanks for your kind words.🙏🌺🙏🌺🙏
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Che personaggio affascinante! Grazie per il tuo articolo che me lo ha fatto scoprire, benché io conoscessi il suo nome non conoscevo la sua genialità!
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Era un vero genio purtroppo misconosciuto da molti… e pensare che le auto elettriche sono prodotte dalla Tesla
Buona domenica. Emilio 🌺🌺🌺
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[…] https://wordsmusicandstories.wordpress.com/2021/07/10/teslas-obsessions/ […]
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Grazie! 💜💜💜
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Se il suo genio fosse stato riconosciuto, non avremmo avuto motori a scoppio, con tutto quello ne consegue, e le automobili sarebbero state elettriche sin dall’inizio! Un mondo completamente diverso. O sbaglio?
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Non ci avevo pensato,,,, Interessante 🙏😊🙏
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“He spoke seven languages, had a photographic memory, and could memorize entire books…” I did not know this. What a genius!!
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Yes, indeed
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Sai sono un appassionato di automobilismo, anche se dopo l’emorragia cerebrale mi hanno tolto la patente. Per me è stata una pugnalata nella schiena! Mi rifaccio collezionando modellini in scala 1/43. ne ho più di 200!
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Davvero? E’ una collezione davvero ricca
Buona serata🤗
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Buona serata anche a te!
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Tesla una grande testa d’uovo ma con scarso successo economico. Un vero pioniere del green
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Proprio così 🙏🙏🙏
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bel pomeriggio
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A beautiful post of Tesla’s thank you so much
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So glad to know you appreciated it
Thank you very much 🙏🙏🙏
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[…] Tesla’s Obsessions […]
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Thank you very much for reblogging 🙏🌹🙏
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Ohh that was interesting squared!! Enjoyed the description of a brilliant yet off beat mind and life
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Thank you so much for commenting and showing your support ❤
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Very interesting! Right now, I have in my lap an open page of “Alternating current” for an upcoming exam. Love the serendipity there! Found this post very informative. Tesla will always be well respected!
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Delighted you enjoyed this post! Thanks very much for your kind words🙏🙏🙏
Wishing you good luck
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Thank you very much! 😀🙏
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curieux personnage néanmoins interessant…un pigeon est tombé de son nid je l’ai récupéré :):)♥
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As-tu récupéré un pigeon tombé du nid ? Quelle belle opération de sauvetage !
Félicitations chère Marguerite et bonne soirée 😘❤😘
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oui ma belle et il me suivait en grimpant sur mon épaule il s’appelait pioupiou 🐦 lol
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👍😘🌼😘🌼😘
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Excellent post. I learned a lot here as I’m kind of ignorant to the history of Nikola. You touched on the subject of Thomas Edison monetizing Tesla’s ideas… Do you think there could be some kind of correlation between Elon Musk’s company and Nikola Tesla’s ideas? Or is that a shot in the dark
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Here’s what I found :
Current CEO Elon Musk didn’t have a say in the name, as he joined the company after it had already been incorporated.
Tesla’s name was actually thought up in Disneyland’s Blue Bayou restaurant, when Tesla cofounder Martin Eberhard pitched it to his then girlfriend, and now wife, Carolyn, according to Business Insider.
Eberhard chose the name, after months of unsuccessful pitches, to honor Nikola Tesla, the Serbian-American inventor who created the AC electric motor that is used in Tesla’s cars.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/elon-musk-tesla-name-martin-eberhard
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Wow you’re good! That first paragraph is kind of alarming to me, especially where it says “as he joined the company after it had already been incorporated”. Thank you, you taught me a lot in a short amount of time
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You are welcome, Kevin 🙏
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had even heard of some theories he devised for not getting married. To an extent he never wanted to waste his semen, and some others during his time with Edison.
But a great conversational post Luisa. Thanks
Nara x
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I have heard about that, They say that this peculiar habit known as semen retention was also practiced by Steve Jobs, Muhammad Ali and others
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Nicolas TESLA a fait l’objet du roman “des Éclairs” de l’écrivain français Jean ECHENOZ.
Bonne journée, Luisa.
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Je ne savais pas!
Merci pour l’information, Jean-Louis (●’◡’●)
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https://wp.me/pdeX3n-1j
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👍
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