Tesla Triumphs in Buffalo--Niagara : A True Current Event!
On This Day: November 15, 1896:
A multi-lingual genius of a fellow from Serbia named Nikola Tesla came to America and worked for Thomas Edison at first, later for George Westinghouse, and later himself.... Edison promised Tesla 50 grand if some of his ideas would come to prosper in fruition. After a few patents and a couple years of tremendous success, Edison saw what a prosperous soul he had working for him in Nikola Tesla.
So Tesla came to him one day and asked about the 50 grand, to which Edison responded “My dear Tesla, you are still new here—what you must still learn about our American sense of humor my friend!” Tesla walked out on the alternative option offered—an extra 10 dollars a week pay raise. And he remained bitter in the aftermath of his incident with Edison.
The day after Edison died the New York Times contained extensive coverage of Edison's life, with the only negative opinion coming from Tesla, who was quoted as saying,
'He had no hobby, cared for no sort of amusement of any kind and lived in utter disregard of the most elementary rules of hygiene... His method was inefficient in the extreme, for an immense ground had to be covered to get anything at all unless blind chance intervened and, at first, I was almost a sorry witness of his doings, knowing that just a little theory and calculation would have saved him 90 per cent of the labor. But he had a veritable contempt for book learning and mathematical knowledge, trusting himself entirely to his inventor's instinct and practical American sense.”
Just before Edison died, he said his biggest mistake he had made was in trying to develop directed current, rather than the superior alternating current (AC) system that Tesla had brought to fruition in Buffalo and had put within his grasp.
On This day November 15th— the City of Buffalo joined the power grid being generated from Niagara Falls. It became the first long distance transmission of electricity for commercial purposes. With this new success, new industry moved into the area.
Tesla—the man who invented the 20th century—is a cherished Buffalo memory.
And That’s the news from On This Day from Buffalo World.
Hmmm, pity to end just here now....Tesla once wrote:
“I have not thought it hazardous to predict, that wars in the future will be waged by electrical means.” —Nikola Tesla, 1915
Makes one wonder. Tesla had offered the US War Department a Peace Beam-- lovely euphemism for a death ray beam that would burn everything in its path. When Tesla died in a NY hotel room at age 86, impoverished yet with over 100 patents to his name, the US goverment seized all that lay within his rooms and kept it top secret.
A year after Tesla died, the US Supreme Court agreed it was he who actually invented the radio as we know it...Tesla likely did invent the 20th century. And his most important discoveries about electricity that has changed the world more than we can imagine found their birth in Buffalo. No surprise.
What Others Have To Say
What Do You Think?
Related Articles
-
My Favorite Buildings
After reading a recent Buffalo News story about funding and delays in renovation of the Buffalo State Psychiatric Hospital I was reminded of how much I love that building. This structure designed by H.H. Richardson is massive and I love the whole thing. However I really love the part that no one thinks of, the 1/4 mile long wings (or should I say wing since one wing was lopped off in the 60's). This building is not considered to be one of Richardson's best buildings. But, t …
- Sep 28th 2011, 11:02am
- Continue Reading
- 26 Comments
-
My Favorite Buildings
This house on Richmond Avenue is very unusual for Buffalo. It stands out among its wooden neighbors not only in material but also in detail and form. Buffalo is overwhelmingly constructed of wood with brick coming in a distant second as a material. Stone houses are very rare. Also rare is the Palazzo styling and shape of this house. Buffalo's Queen Anne Victorians are strong expressions of Buffalo's new money attitude in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Unlike staid Delawa …
- Sep 28th 2011, 11:00am
- Continue Reading
- 13 Comments
-
If You See This Posting, You're at the Wrong Site
We've updated Buffalo Rising. Some people haven't seen it yet, though, so if you're seeing this post, you need to refresh your browser to be taken to the new www.buffalorising.com. If hitting refresh alone doesn't do it, hold the *shift* key and hit refresh. If that doesn't work and you still see this old version of the site, try going to this story. That should certainly take you to the new site and from there, you can navigate around the new BuffaloRising.com.
- Feb 5th 2009, 9:21pm
- Continue Reading
- 3 Comments
-
The Wait is Almost Over - BR's New Site
As we mentioned in our previous post, we’re in the process of changing the Buffalo Rising site. We’re almost there as we expect to launch the new site on Friday, December 19th.
In the meantime, posting will be light as we log new stories in the new publishing system which will only be viewable when we launch on Friday.
As always, we appreciate our users’ patience as we make this transition but we promise it will be well worth it. With faster load times, a comment view … - Dec 18th 2008, 11:32am
- Continue Reading
- 6 Comments
Comment Options
chris69
This is yet another tragedy....its a metaphor for how big shots in downstate screw over the upstate rednecks they perceive us to be.....
But on to my bigger point....how much longer must Buffalo wait to fully brand its global identity. Lets take a look at some of the things that are really ignored here in Buffalo Niagara.
Thanks to Tesla Buffalo / Niagara should be the first city of the 20th century but there are also presidents Cleveland and Fillmore and McKinley but there is also LaSalles Griffon but there is also Adm Perrys warships and the defense of the West the French and Indian War the revolutionary war the war of 1812 the Erie Canal which we are just beginning to tap the potential the Pan Am....youd think we would have restored a few fountains and gateways
For 200 years Buffalo Niagara had a globally recognized brand name that was positive, inspiring and admirable...now maybe we cant run with the Pheonix and San Diegos and Miamis in sun and growth but we certainly can rebuild our tourism and our globally recognized brand name to be the cultural equivalent of a historical titan like Boston or a city with a reputation for global trade like NYC/LA/Miami/Seattle, or a city with a reputation for technological advancement like SF/Seattle/Boston/NYC.
We may not have the population or the industry....but our historical tourism needs and deserves large percentages of public support.....Tesla is yet another example that though we have had a hard 75 years ... every Buffalonian can and should hold their head. We have none of the airs that other cities have even though we have much more than they to be proud.
PS driving into Dallas there is this huge ball the size of a skyscraper that has all sorts of randomly lighted designs and it looks very similar to a TESLAs electric arc generator. NOW THAT WOULD BE AN AWESOME BUILDING FOR BUFFALO/NIAGARA.....A LIGHTED SKYSCRAPER IN THE SHAPE OF A TESLA COIL.
Report this
bbvdm
Tesla...good band.
Report this
al-alo
shocking story. now im all amped up.
Report this
UrbanBody
B Zim,
Several months ago BRO highlighted the efforts of some locals to create a Tesla Museum on Niagara St. Do you have a status update on their plans?
Report this
chris69
if Seattle can have the space needle.....Buffalo should have a TESLA Tower
Report this
georgethomasapfel
It's good that the world finally acknowledged the true genius of Tesla; myself and fellow broadcast engineers for years have recognized him as the true "Father of Radio." From the Tesla Society of New York website
Report this