Nikola Tesla

Born in Smiljan, Serbia in 1856, Tesla demonstrated an extraordinary aptitude for mathematics and physics from an early age. After studying at the Graz University of Technology and working briefly for Thomas Edison, Tesla struck out independently and began the series of inventions that would define his legacy. His AC induction motor and polyphase power system, developed in the late 1880s, won the War of Currents against Edison's DC system and became the global standard for electrical power distribution. In the 1890s, Tesla turned his attention to high-frequency phenomena, resonant circuits, and the possibility of wireless energy transmission. His Colorado Springs experiments (1899–1900) and the unfinished Wardenclyffe Tower project represented his most ambitious attempt to transmit power without wires across the globe. The project was abandoned when funding collapsed, and Tesla spent his final decades in relative obscurity. He died in New York City in 1943, leaving behind a body of work — and a collection of patents and notebooks — that researchers continue to study and debate.