Nikola Tesla

One of the most important historical figures in Croatia is Nikola Tesla. On July 10, 1856, a Serb woman gave birth to Nikola Tesla in the Austrian Empire's Military Frontier settlement of Smiljan (modern-day Croatia). He was a superb physicist, electrical engineer, and inventor. He is most known for creating the alternating current (AC) electrical supply system, but he also made significant advancements in a wide range of other fields, including lasers, x-rays, radar, lighting, robotics, radio, remote control, and wireless communications.

At his 79th birthday party in 1935, Tesla discussed a wide range of subjects. He made numerous claims about his mechanical oscillator, including having discovered the cosmic ray in 1896 and creating a method to produce direct current using induction. He told reporters that a version of his oscillator had sparked an earthquake in Lower Manhattan's 46 East Houston Street lab and nearby streets in 1898. He predicted that the invention would make him $100 million within two years.

For his ideas, Tesla received almost 300 patents globally. There are some unaccounted-for Tesla patents, and several sources have found ones that had been stashed away in patent records. At least 278 patents known to have been granted to Tesla in 26 nations. Although many of Tesla's patents were granted in the United States, Britain, and Canada, many more were authorized in other nations. Tesla created numerous innovations, but many of them were never protected by patents.