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Nikola Tesla Facts & Worksheets

Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American engineer and physicist who made several breakthroughs regarding the production, transmission, and application of electricity or electric power.

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Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American engineer and physicist who made several breakthroughs regarding the production, transmission, and application of electricity or electric power. Tesla was known as the man who invented the first alternating current (AC) motor. Tesla developed a technology that transmits and generates AC. He also invented the “Tesla Coil,” an invention that is still widely used in radio technology.

See the fact file below for more information on the Nikola Tesla or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Nikola Tesla worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE

  • Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856, in Smiljan, Croatia.
  • Nikola Tesla had four siblings named Dane, Angelina, Milka, and Marica.
  • His mother was Djuka Mandic. She was believed to help spark Tesla’s interest in electrical invention.
  • Djuka invented small household appliances in her spare time as Nikola grew up.
  • His father was named Milutin Tesla, who was a Serbian orthodox priest and a writer.
  • Milutin Tesla attempted to push Nikola to become a priest like him, but Nikola was only interested in science.

EDUCATION

  • Tesla attended primary school in Smiljan in 1861.
  • There, he studied German, arithmetic, and religion.
  • He attended middle school Gospíc, Lika, when his family moved in 1862.
  • Tesla moved away north to Karlovac in 1870.
  • There, he attended high school at the Higher Real Gymnasium. It was a school within the Austro-Hungarian Military Frontier.
  • Before finishing high school in 1873, Tesla had already developed a curiosity in electricity.
  • He noted that this was a “mysterious phenomena” and he wanted to “know more of this wonderful force.”
  • Unbelievably, Tesla was able to compute integral calculus in his head, and his professors even accused him of cheating.
  • Tesla contracted cholera in 1873.
  • Out of worry, his father promised to send him to the best engineering school if he recovered.
  • Tesla ran away to the southeast of Lika to Tomingaj to avoid being compulsively enlisted in the national army.
  • In the mountains, he miraculously recovered from his illness, and was greatly helped by reading Mark Twain’s work.
  • In 1875, Tesla enrolled at Austrian Polytechnic in Graz, Austria, on a Military Frontier scholarship.
  • His father died in 1879.
  • In 1880, his two uncles put up enough money for him to pursue his studies.
  • He left Gospíc for Prague to supposedly study.
  • However, he arrived too late to enroll at Charles-Ferdinand University.

BUDAPEST TELEPHONE EXCHANGE

  • Tesla moved to Budapest, Hungary in 1881.
  • He moved to Budapest in order to work under Tivadar Puskás at a telegraph company named the Budapest Telephone Exchange.
  • The company at that time was not functional and under construction.
  • Tesla realized this and decided to work as a draftsman in the Central Telegraph Office instead.
  • The Budapest Telephone Exchange became functional within a few months.
  • After that, Tesla was appointed in the chief electrician position.
  • Tesla made many improvements to the Central Station during his stay of employment.
  • The company claimed to have perfected a telephone repeater or amplifier, which was never patented nor publicly described.

TESLA VS. EDISON

  • Tesla arrived in the United States in 1884.
  • Tesla arrived in America with sufficient wealth.
  • He also carried a letter of introduction to the famous inventor and business mogul Thomas Edison.
  • Thomas Edison was known for DC-based electrical works that were fast becoming the standard in the country.
  • Edison hired Tesla to work beside him with the goal to further improve his inventions.
  • Several months later, Edison and Tesla parted ways due to a conflict between business and scientific pursuit.
  • Historians noted that Edison and Tesla possessed incredibly different personalities.
  • Thomas Edison was focused on making a business out of his inventions.
  • Nikola Tesla was uniquely out-of-touch with material things, and more focused on the pursuit of scientific knowledge.
  • Tesla received funding for the Tesla Electric Light Company in 1885.
  • Tesla was ordered by his investors to develop improved arc lighting.
  • Tesla succeeded in developing his investor’s request.
  • However, Tesla was forced out of the venture and, for a time, had to work as a manual laborer in order to survive.
  • Two years later, he became lucky and once again received funding for his new Tesla Electric Company.

DEATH & LEGACY

  • Nikola Tesla was poor and reclusive when he suffered to his death.
  • He died of a coronary thrombosis on January 7, 1943, at the age of 86 in New York City, where he had lived for nearly 60 years.
  • Tesla remained a respected figure in science and in the field of physics. The legacy of his work left behind lives on to this day.
  • In 1994, a street sign identifying “Nikola Tesla Corner” was installed near the site of his former New York City laboratory, at the intersection of 40th Street and 6th Avenue.

Nikola Tesla Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Nikola Tesla across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Nikola Tesla worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Nikola Tesla who was a Serbian-American engineer and physicist who made several breakthroughs regarding the production, transmission, and application of electricity or electric power. Tesla was known as the man who invented the first alternating current (AC) motor. Tesla developed a technology that transmits and generates AC. He also invented the “Tesla Coil,” an invention that is still widely used in radio technology.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Nikola Tesla Facts
  • Tesla’s Family
  • Life Summary
  • Correct Sequence
  • Tesla Dictionary
  • Tesla or False
  • Tesla vs. Edison
  • Invention Review
  • American Inventors
  • Tesla Applications
  • My Science Invention

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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