Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor and electrical engineer whose work on alternating current (AC) power systems laid the foundation for modern electrical distribution.
Tesla emigrated to the United States in 1884 and briefly worked for Thomas Edison before the two became rivals in what became known as the 'War of the Currents,' with Tesla and George Westinghouse championing AC power over Edison's preferred direct current (DC).
Tesla held hundreds of patents and made significant contributions to radio technology, wireless transmission, and electromagnetism, though many of his more ambitious projects, such as wireless global energy transmission, were never fully realized due to funding difficulties.
Though he died in relative obscurity and financial hardship in 1943, Tesla's contributions to AC power are now recognized as foundational to the modern electrical grid, and his name has become synonymous with electrical innovation.