January 02, 2007
2006: The Year of Nikola Tesla (by guest blogger Julia)
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943): The Man Who Invented the 20th Century.
2006 marked the 150th birthday of the Father of Radio, Robotics and Wireless Transmission.
Nikola Tesla was a world-renowned Serb-American inventor, physicist, mechanical engineer and electrical engineer. Tesla is regarded as one of the most important inventors in history...In 1943, the United States Supreme Court credited him as being the inventor of the radio. Never putting much focus on his finances, Tesla died impoverished and forgotten at the age of 86...Contemporary admirers of Tesla have deemed him "the man who invented the twentieth century."
One end of New York's Bryant Park now reads "Nikola Tesla Corner," in honor of this scientific genius who loved to feed the pigeons there. As well, the Tesla Memorial Monument was uveiled in Niagra Falls, where one of his inventions was first successfully tried. Quite fortuitously this year as well, David Bowie played a scientist named Nikola Tesla in the film "The Prestige." And the birth of a new car manufacturer called Tesla Motors seems to have been timed to the great inventor's 150th birthday: the Tesla Roadster is a 100% electric sports car.
Not often mentioned (and not at all in the movie) is the fact that the "man who invented the 20th Century" was a Serb. And yet, civilized contributions are so much more the norm for Serbs than is genocide -- our programmed association with them no matter how many times, ways and places it’s been disproved.
Tesla was born and grew up in Croatia, which likes to take pride in Tesla as a Croatian citizen -- true to the Croatian credo that “the only good Serb is a dead Serb.” If Tesla hadn't moved to America by World War II, he would have ended up disemboweled like this Serbian philanthropist. (Warning: Graphic Image)
For a good summary of Tesla's mind-blowing achievements, read the speech by Serbian Ambassador to Canada Perko Vukotic, who mentions that LIFE Magazine in 1997 named Tesla among the "100 Most Important People" of the last thousand years.
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Good timing on that post.
Posted by: Charles at January 2, 2007 10:06 AMJulia, the hate inside you grows strong. Your journey to the dark side is almost complete. Your skewed and morally flawed version of history will serve Emperor Ratko Mladic well.
Posted by: PAUL at January 2, 2007 12:11 PMAnd no mention of the band?
Posted by: StB at January 2, 2007 03:20 PMWhat happened to my comment?
Posted by: PAUL at January 2, 2007 03:34 PMI was going to say the same thing, STB!
Posted by: Karol at January 2, 2007 03:40 PMSo, Karol, when do you take the keys to the blog back from the kids?
Posted by: Alceste at January 2, 2007 04:19 PMThanks for the links about Tesla. I think that Tesla is the prototype "mad scientist" or "suppressed inventor" often romanticized in fiction and movies. He certainly achieved a lot, and showed he had more intellectual prowess than Thomas Edison. Unfortunately, he was a poor businessman and died penniless in 1943.
I did read a biographical fiction book called Tesla by Tad Wise. It's good reading if you don't mind a lot of the technical aspects of his achievements being left out.
Posted by: Ron at January 3, 2007 02:15 PMRon, he handed Edison his ass. Edison wanted to use DC power; this would have led to a NYC skyline no higher than two floors and overshadowed with poles and cables. Tesla demonstrated AC power, and then went further by NOT electricuting a death row inmate to prove how safe AC was. The trick was he used high frequency AC in the chair (but the point was made).
Posted by: bryan at January 9, 2007 12:29 PMBog neka te cuva Julija...
Posted by: the serb at May 17, 2007 09:34 AM
