Once upon a time there was a man. He was relatively misunderstood by almost everyone he came in contact with. People considered him crazy and extremely hungry for knowledge about the future. He was indeed hungry for knowledge about electricity, physics, and other related sciences, but all the information he learned contributed to the creation of multiple scientific inventions that changed the world. Without Nikola Tesla, the world would not be as technologically advanced as it is today. Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856 in the European country of Croatia, the son of Mulutin and Djuka Tesla. His father, Mulutin, was a Serbian Orthodox priest. His mother, Djuka, was an inventor of various household appliances. Growing up under the influence of his mother may have fueled the ideas floating around in his head. Seeing that it was possible for her, he thought it was also possible for him to succeed. He studied at the Austrian Polytechnic Institute and the University of Prague. At the beginning of his studies, Tesla intended to study mainly physics and mathematics. However, his mind became fascinated with electricity and he soon began a career with a telephone company as an electrical engineer. It wasn't long before his mind began to design machines that used electricity. The first of a long series concerned an induction motor. "While in Strasbourg in 1883, he privately built a prototype induction motor and put it to work successfully. Unable to interest anyone in Europe in promoting this radical device, Tesla accepted a job offer for Thomas Edison in New York" (Vujovic). Since Tesla's childhood, he dreamed of harnessing the hydroelectric power of Niagara Falls, located in New York. Moving to America with... middle of paper...... would take him until some time after his death. Others got credit for what he had invented years earlier. Nikola Tesla had most likely created even more inventions, but kept them hidden. He was a genius disguised as a madman. His mind was still thinking about how science worked and how he could build a device to bring his plan to life. He has had success repeatedly with power generation equipment like the many variations of the Tesla coil. Alternating current is probably the most important invention in his collection. Without it, there would be no wall outlet to easily plug in everyday devices. The world's population would still use Edison's direct current method of electricity. Nikola Tesla may have seemed like someone who wasn't that important to the modern era's way of life, but without him the 21st century might have been extremely different..