Nikola Tesla arrived in New York City when he was 28 and was appalled to discover America was mechanical and unattractive. Tesla reported home that America was centuries behind Europe in civilization and etiquette. Tesla arrived to America with four cents, sketches for a flying machine and an introduction letter from Charles Batchelor who was a European business colleague of Edison’s.
Electricity has been used in New York since the 1870′s and Edison’s DC power station held a monopoly thanks in part to his creation of the incandescent lamp. On the street, the poorly maintained electric poles were a constant danger, many children who played on or near the poles met untimely deaths. Brooklyn residents had become so accustomed to dodging electric shocks from trolley cars that their baseball team took the name the Brooklyn Dodgers. Despite all the known dangers, wealthy New Yorkers rushed to have their homes wired; one such was the banker J.P. Morgan who heavily backed Edison.
Tesla struck an odd visage as a 6′ 4″ impoverished immigrant when he entered Edison’s office with his letter of recommendation in hand. Seeing it as competition, Edison wanted no part of AC power though he saw the genius in Tesla and immediately hired him to improve his DC power station. Edison promised Tesla $50,000 for his work, which he thought impossible.
Tesla and Edison shared a common trait in that neither needed much sleep. Tesla only slept two or three hours per night even into old age. Sleeping habits were the only thing the two had in common, as Tesla designed by inspiration and would have an idea completely thought out before beginning construction while Edison preferred trial and error. Edison famously said, “invention is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration.” This along with other differences soon led to many confrontations between the two.
After several months of work Tesla announced he was finished with his improvements to Edison’s DC power station and requested payment. Edison said the $50,000 offer was made as a joke and after Tesla became a full-fledged American he would “enjoy an American joke.” Tesla was disgusted and immediately resigned.
This educational article was written by Matthew Jorn
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