When we hear the name Nikola Tesla, the idea of ​​a great inventor usually doesn't instantly come to mind. In fact, in most cases the person doesn't know who it is. Nikola Tesla, the protégé of Thomas Edison, was a remarkable scientist who diligently improved the science of mechanical and electrical engineering until his death, where he began to be forgotten by those who studied electrical and mechanical engineering. He invented many things, including the induction motor and alternating current. Tesla was known by many journalists and media outlets as the stereotypical "mad scientist" until his death in 1946. Tesla is the fourth child of Milutin and Duka Tesla. His father, Milutin, was a Serbian priest; and his mother was a housewife who built her own mechanical egg beater and also had a gift for memorizing and reciting Serbian epic poems. Tesla was born on July 10, 1856 in Smiljan; a village in the Austrian Empire. Tesla's older brother, Dane, was killed when Tesla was five years old, either due to a horse riding incident or by being pushed down the basement stairs by Nikola, as Dane accused him when he was delirious in the hospital. Due to Dane's death, Tesla was expected to follow in his father's footsteps and become a pastor. The family moved to Gospic, a town in the Austrian Empire in 1862. Tesla excelled in elementary school, being able to calculate the integral calculus entirely in his head; much to the dismay of his teachers. In 1873 he completed his four-year term in three. Returning from school, Tesla contracted cholera which worried his father. Tesla saw this as an opportunity to coerce his father into canceling his plans to take the priesthood and made his father promise that if Te... middle of paper ... suffered fainting spells. On January 1, he complained of chest pain while performing an experiment and returned to the hotel where he was staying. The last time he was seen alive was by a hotel maid on the 5th, the night he called the Secretary of Defense. On January 12, 1943, more than two thousand people gathered at the Cathedral of Saint John the Theologian to honor the great engineer. Tesla brought several innovations to this world, including his alternating current and his Tesla coil, but his mind was one of the most innovative and intelligent of his time. He went beyond the normal thoughts and mentalities of the 19th century and achieved scientific marvels such as the Wardenclyffe Tower. He was a man of many talents and skills and spent his final days at the New York Public Library, feeding the pigeons he called "my true friends ».”.