Born in modern-day Croatia in July 1856, Tesla came to the United States in 1884 and took a job in Thomas Edison's lab, but the two men quickly found themselves at odds over direct current (DC) versus alternating current (AC). In the 1890s Tesla invented electric oscillators, meters, improved lights and the high voltage transformer known as the Tesla coil (developed in 1891). Tesla coil is still used in radio technology.
He was also a pioneer in the discovery of radar technology, X-ray technology, remote control and the rotating magnetic field — the basis of most AC machinery.
In 1887, Tesla found funding for his new Tesla Electric Company, and by the end of the year, he had successfully filed several patents for AC-based inventions.
As the inventor of alternating-current technology, Nikola Tesla played a paramount role in the electricity used to power the entire world. He developed polyphase alternating current systems of generators, motors and transformers, eventually holding 40 basic US patents.
Tesla's AC system soon caught the attention of American engineer and businessman George Westinghouse. Westinghouse purchased Tesla's patents, and this new partnership began competing with Thomas Edison.
Tesla lived his last decades in a New York hotel, working on new inventions even as his energy and mental health faded. His obsession with the number three and fastidious washing were dismissed as the eccentricities of genius.
Electrical power by Nikola Tesla
