caption death_date death_place module birth_place citizenship ethnicity birth_date alt signature image article_title education name death_cause
tesla napoleon sarony , aged 34 , 1890 , photo by 7 january 1943 new york city , new york discipline practice_name = employer = significant_projects = alternating current , high-voltage = , high-frequency power experiments significant_design = induction motor rotating magnetic electrical field tesla coil radio remote control vehicle -lrb- torpedo -rrb- engineering significant_advance = significant_awards = , mechanical engineering institutions = smiljan , austrian empire -lrb- modern-day croatia -rrb- united 1943 -rrb- states -lrb- 30 july 1891 -- 7 january serb 10 july 1856 head-and-shoulder moustache , dark suit and white-collar shirt shot of slender man with dark hair and nikola tesla signature 1900 . svg tesla circa 1890.jpeg nikola tesla
 graz university of technology -lrb- dropped out -rrb- nikola tesla coronary thrombosis
nikola tesla

nikola tesla -lrb- ; 10 july 1856 -- 7 january 1943 -rrb- was a serbian american inventor , electrical engineer , mechanical engineer , physicist , and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current -lrb- ac -rrb- electricity supply system .
tesla gained experience in telephony and electrical engineering before immigrating to the united states in 1884 to work for thomas edison in new york city .
he soon struck out on his own with financial backers , setting up laboratories and companies to develop a range of electrical devices .
his patented ac induction motor and transformer were licensed by george westinghouse , who also hired tesla for a short time as a consultant .
his work in the formative years of electric power development was involved in a corporate alternating current/direct current `` war of currents '' as well as various patent battles .
tesla went on to pursue his ideas of wireless lighting and electricity distribution in his high-voltage , high-frequency power experiments in new york and colorado springs , and made early -lrb- 1893 -rrb- pronouncements on the possibility of wireless communication with his devices .
he tried to put these ideas to practical use in his ill-fated attempt at intercontinental wireless transmission , which was his unfinished wardenclyffe tower project .
in his lab he also conducted a range of experiments with mechanical oscillators/generators , electrical discharge tubes , and early x-ray imaging .
he also built a wireless controlled boat , one of the first ever exhibited .
tesla was renowned for his achievements and showmanship , eventually earning him a reputation in popular culture as an archetypal `` mad scientist '' .
his patents earned him a considerable amount of money , much of which was used to finance his own projects with varying degrees of success .
he lived most of his life in a series of new york hotels , through his retirement .
he died on 7 january 1943 .
his work fell into relative obscurity after his death , but in 1960 the general conference on weights and measures named the si unit of magnetic flux density the tesla in his honor .
there has been a resurgence in interest in tesla in popular culture since the 1990s .
