Track3_6

Track 3 .6

Nikola Tesla was born on the 10th of July, in 1856, in Smillion, a small village in Croatia.

His father was a priest, and his mother was taking care of the family's farm.

He had one brother, Daniel, but he lost him in an accident.

When Daniel died in the accident, it was a sudden shock to the seven -year -old Nikola in 1863.

That was the time when he started to have visions.

He always loved mathematics and science.

While he was performing calculus equations in his head,

his teachers always thought that he was cheating, but that was not the truth.

He didn't have any difficulties while he was doing these calculations.

Tesla's father sent him to the Polytechnic School in Grotz, Austria, in 1875.

In school, what he loved most was conducting basic experiments.

When he had nothing to do, during his spare time, he was just sitting and thinking of some scientific issues.

After school, his scientific experiments continued.

He made lots of hypotheses about how to use electricity more beneficially.

He also did different experiments in his laboratories to prove his arguments.

In 1882, Tesla began working for the Continental Edison Company in France,

designing and making improvements to electrical equipment.

One day, Tesla told Edison that he believed he could improve his motors.

Edison said,

There's $50 ,000 in it for you if you can do it.

After several months, Tesla showed the improved motor and asked about the payment.

Edison told him that he was only joking and that Tesla didn't understand American humor.

Tesla immediately resigned.

In 1886, he founded Tesla Electric Light and Manufacturing,

and next year, the Tesla Electric Company.

Tesla patented several inventions in his lifetime.

In 1895, he designed an innovative hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls,

which was able to power the entire city of Buffalo, New York.

Tesla continued to discover, design and develop new technologies,

but many of his ideas were patented by other inventors.

In 1902, Tesla set out to build a worldwide wireless communication system,

but by 1917, he declared bankruptcy.

He died poor in New York in 1943, but his legacy lives on.

This was the biography of one of the legends of science.

In the second part, you'll hear more about Tesla's interesting lifestyle.