Nikola Tesla



Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) was a scientist, inventor and engineer who revolutionized the modern electricity supply system. He earned a reputation during his lifetime in the press as a "mad scientist" and infamously clashed with Thomas Edison over patents.

On Sesame Street, he was spoofed (in name only) as Nikola Messla, a professor offering grouch courses online.

His legacy endures in modern culture in the form of car company Tesla Motors, monuments to his life and career, and depictions in fiction including a crossover with Sherlock Holmes (in a series of books by Ralph Vaughan), adventures with Mark Twain (in a novel by Sesh Heri), and Christopher Priest's 1995 novel The Prestige (where he was played by David Bowie in Christopher Nolan's film adaptation).