NEW YORK

1892

Biographical Sketch of Nikola Tesla.

While a large portion of the European family has been surging westward during the last three or four hundred years, settling the vast continents of America, another, but smaller, portion has been doing frontier work in the Old World, protecting the rear by beating back the “unspeakable Turk” and reclaiming gradually the fair lands that endure the curse of Mohammedan rule.  For a long time the Slav people—­who, after the battle of Kosovopjolje, in which the Turks defeated the Servians, retired to the confines of the present Montenegro, Dalmatia, Herzegovina and Bosnia, and “Borderland” of Austria—­knew what it was to deal, as our Western pioneers did, with foes ceaselessly fretting against their frontier; and the races of these countries, through their strenuous struggle against the armies of the Crescent, have developed notable qualities of bravery and sagacity, while maintaining a patriotism and independence unsurpassed in any other nation.

It was in this interesting border region, and from among these valiant Eastern folk, that Nikola Tesla was born in the year 1857, and the fact that he, to-day, finds himself in America and one of our foremost electricians, is striking evidence of the extraordinary attractiveness alike of electrical pursuits and of the country where electricity enjoys its widest application.  Mr. Tesla’s native place was Smiljan, Lika, where his father was an eloquent clergyman of the Greek Church, in which, by the way, his family is still prominently represented.  His mother enjoyed great fame throughout the countryside for her skill and originality in needlework, and doubtless transmitted her ingenuity to Nikola; though it naturally took another and more masculine direction.

The boy was early put to his books, and upon his father’s removal to Gospic he spent four years in the public school, and later, three years in the Real School, as it is called.  His escapades were such as most quick witted boys go through, although he varied the programme on one occasion by getting imprisoned in a remote mountain chapel rarely visited for service; and on another occasion by falling headlong into a huge kettle of boiling milk, just drawn from the paternal herds.  A third curious episode was that connected with his efforts to fly when, attempting to navigate the air with the aid of an old umbrella, he had, as might be expected, a very bad fall, and was laid up for six weeks.

About this period he began to take delight in arithmetic and physics.  One queer notion he had was to work out everything by three or the power of three.  He was now sent to an aunt at Cartstatt, Croatia, to finish his studies in what is known as the Higher Real School.  It was there that, coming from the rural fastnesses, he saw a steam engine for the first time with a pleasure that he remembers to this day.