Nikola Tesla was born on July 9/10, 1856 (his specific birth details weren’t kept on record), in Croatia. He was a renowned engineer and futurist known for his dedication to understanding and using the production and distribution of alternating-current electric power. He studied engineering in Austria and Bohemia during his early years before moving to Paris to work. In 1894, he made the big move to the US, working for Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. Though he enjoyed his work with them, he loved working independently and ultimately favored it. During his independent studies, he created a special kind of electricity system called alternating current or AC (not the AC that keeps you warm, though, a different kind!), making sending power over long distances possible. One of his famous inventions, the Tesla coil, is still used in radios today. His electrical work was renowned, and in 1893, his electrical system was used to light up the World’s Fair, an event that amazed people with new technology. He also built a power station at Niagara Falls that sent electricity to Buffalo, New York, making it one of the first cities to be powered this way. Although he is regarded as one of the world’s geniuses, many of his ideas stayed in his notebooks because he didn’t have enough money to build them. Today, scientists and inventors still study his work to learn from his incredible ideas!