Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla invented many things and had around 300 patents worldwide. The most notable of these was his design of alternating current (AC) which is used around the world today to provide electricity to countless homes. Tesla had a great impact on the United States and the Earth in general with his many inventions. For this reason, Tesla has had enormous success in today's popular culture despite dying penniless and alone in a New York apartment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856 in modern-day Croatia. Both of his parents were Serbian priests, and Tesla attributed his photographic memory to his mother's genetics and his creativity to her breeding methods. During his young life Tesla attended several schools and demonstrated his high abilities, such as the ability to perform integral calculations in his head, which made him top of his class in college. Tesla claimed to work “from 3 a.m. to 11 p.m., without exception on Sundays and public holidays.” However, during his second year of college he became addicted to gambling and later had to drop out of college at the end of his third year. To hide this, Tesla severed all ties with his family and, after displacing some of them, was eventually hired as a chief electrician in 1881 at the Budapest Telephone Exchange, making many improvements to their equipment. In 1882 Tesla began working for Thomas Edison's company in France, and in 1884 he moved to New York to work more directly with Edison. Tesla solved increasingly difficult problems for Edison and was eventually given the task of redesigning Edison's direct current (DC) generators, with Thomas Edison stating, "There's fifty thousand dollars for you, if you can do it." which at the time was over $1 million. When Tesla completed this task after a few months, designing AC power, Edison remarked “Tesla, you don't understand our American humor.” Tesla resigned immediately after this incident and later became Edison's rival in the DC versus AC debate. After Tesla's resignation, he founded his own company Tesla Electrical Light & Manufacturing, which installed lighting systems designed by Tesla. When Tesla proposed that the company work on AC systems and motors, the investors disagreed and fired him, leaving him broke to work as a ditch digger for $2 an hour. One of the main reasons why Tesla's proposal to work on AC was rejected so harshly was because Thomas Edison was busy discrediting Tesla's AC so he could promote his own DC. To do this, Edison publicly electrocuted animals, including an elephant, to demonstrate the dangers of air conditioning. This however did not work, as today alternating current is used all over the world. Edison's direct current system was extremely inefficient on a large scale, incapable of going more than 2 miles without needing a direct current power plant. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essayTesla returned to inventing again a few years later, founding a new company, the Tesla Electric Company. Over his years Tesla invented and patented many other things and played an important role in the development of X-ray testing, radio, wireless energy transfer fluorescent light, laser beams, communication.