GENIUS WHO CHANGED THE WORLD WAS BORN ON THIS DAY

BIJELJINA, JULY 10 /SRNA/ - One of the greatest minds in the history of world science, Serbian physicist and inventor Nikola Tesla, was born on this day in 1856.

He was born in what was then the Habsburg Monarchy, in what is now Croatia, as the son of a village Serbian Orthodox priest. He was the fourth child of Milutin and Djuka Tesla.

Tesla discovered the rotating magnetic field, the three-phase electric power transmission system, the induction motor, the generator and the transformer, the phenomenon of electromagnetic resonance, and patented numerous inventions that form the basis of modern electronics.

He was a pioneer of radio technology, wireless telegraphy, and radar. Tesla's polyphase alternating current system demonstrated its value at the first hydropower plant at Niagara Falls.

He patented around 700 inventions in the fields of alternating current, telecommunications, acoustics, and mechanical engineering, many of which found widespread application.

After studying electrical engineering in Graz and briefly working in Budapest and Paris, Tesla moved to the United States, becoming a citizen in 1884, but maintained close ties with his homeland until he died in New York on Orthodox Christmas Day in 1943.

In the United States, Tesla, having unlocked the secrets of the oscillatory behavior of electricity and matter, achieved his greatest scientific accomplishments.

To mark the centenary of his birth, a unit of magnetic induction in the International System of Units /SI/ was named after him: the tesla.

The great inventor and scientist emphasized his Serbian origin. When he visited Belgrade in June 1892, Tesla was awarded the Order of St. Sava, Second Class.

During the visit, Tesla toured the National Museum and the Great School, where he spoke about his work to students and professors. He also discussed the already begun construction of Belgrade's first power plant with Serbian physicist Đorđe Stanojević.

"As you can see and hear, I have remained a Serb even across the ocean, where I am engaged in research. You, too, should remain so and, through your knowledge and work, enhance the glory of the Serbian people throughout the world," Tesla told the students.

After Tesla's death, his legacy was transferred to Belgrade following a decision by U.S. judicial authorities, after his cousin, Sava Kosanović, was declared Tesla's sole heir.

In accordance with Nikola Tesla's wishes, Kosanović transferred Tesla's documents and personal belongings to Belgrade in 1951.

The Nikola Tesla Museum houses more than 160,000 original documents, over 2,000 books and journals, and more than 1,200 historical and technical exhibits. In 2003, the archival material from Tesla's legacy was entered into UNESCO's Memory of the World Program register, "Memory of the World."

Belgrade's international airport bears the name "Nikola Tesla". His name is also carried by the Nikola Tesla Electrical Engineering Institute in Belgrade, founded in 1936, an electrical engineering secondary school, the library of the University of Niš, and two thermal power plants in Serbia.

Monuments to Tesla have been erected in front of the building housing the technical faculties and at Belgrade's airport.

The date of Tesla's birth, July 10, is observed in Serbia as Science Day.

The city of Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, proclaimed the birthday of this great Serbian scientist an official holiday.

Tesla died on Orthodox Christmas Day in 1943.