Robbed, trampled, shunned, striped, and forgotten all could describe Nikola Tesla. Some call him a miracle man, others a delusional washed up mad man. Regardless, Nikola Tesla is thee most influential figure in American history. Despite the seeming disconnection between Tesla’s name and greatness it is his hands that are responsible for our entire way of modern life. It’s almost an oxymoron that one could be the most influential figure in American history and hardly be remembered, but not in this case because it’s what Tesla made and envisioned not his name that influential.
“Lies that my history teacher told me”, the title of a recent New York best seller, uncovered many myths you where fed as fact during your school days. The author wanted to eliminate misconceptions about poorly told historical happenings, like the Columbus discovery. Personally I’m disappointed that there was not a squeal entitled, “Facts my history teacher never told me”, what you leave out can also cause some ones opinion to be ill fated, and that is the summary of Tesla’s legacy. As a kid your teacher mentioned and referenced the more important history figures than they did others. My teachers in the science department idolized Benjamin Franklin, Edison, and most notable Einstein, not once was Nikola Tesla’s name mentioned.


What did Nikola Tesla accomplish in his lifetime; he is the father of the entire electric revolution. born in Siberia in 1856, Tesla moved to America and later became a citizen. He had a battle with Thomas Edison over which version of commercial electricity was better. Edison used DC current which used huge bulky wires and in some cities they blackened the sky. Tesla’s AC current used wires with the diameter of a dime, its what we now use to this day. DC pushed electrons through the cord to get power from one point to another while AC simply pulled one electron back and forth which sent a chain reaction into motion. Ac current has never been replaced since Tesla invented it in the late 1800's. Earlier I said he inspired rock bands, the band AC/DC‘s name commemorates the short battle between Tesla’s AC current and Edison’s DC current. Tesla went on to send and patent radio signals across the Atlantic, thus inventing the radio even though the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Marconi for radio in 1909. He also made the AC motor, got patents for X-ray technology and radar nearly eighteen years before X-ray machines were introduced, Tesla also successfully made wireless electrical energy possible with his Tesla coil, he used his AC wires to harness the power of Niagra falls, he explored geothermal energy and predicted the world could not sustain without renewable fuel sources, he invented the electric motor, and he made remote control missiles (and the remote control).
Tesla’s influence on America history is undeniable his efforts in the electric engineering field shaped the world. Without Nikola Tesla electric power would have never been a viable option in the modern era, submarines would be completely unreasonable without radar technology or missile technology, military plights in general would suffer if Tesla never lived communication would be difficult without radio. Nikola Tesla almost single handedly caused a Second Industrial Revolution because of all his inventions. His technological pursuits allowed the market to expand and better the average American’s life. His AC motor brought unprecedented mechanical power to industry; his AC power distribution system made electrical energy available everywhere; and his radio communication system allowed us to communicate ideas with each other. Tesla is the man who invented tomorrow.
Without Tesla, America would be stuck in a horse carriage and buggy era. With no electricity in homes because the impracticality of DC current electrical appliances would have never been made or popularized, limiting the market. Without Tesla computers never become invented, America would never developed into a super power with no radar or radio to use in battle.