34 moments

1. Birth in Smiljan

   1856-07-10 · Smiljan, Croatia

   

   Tesla was born in the village of Smiljan, then in the Austrian Empire and now in Croatia.

2. Primary school attendance

   1861-01-01 · Smiljan, Croatia

   

   Tesla attended primary school in his birthplace, studying German, arithmetic, and religion.

3. Family move and schooling

   1862-01-01 · Gospić, Croatia

   The Tesla family relocated to Gospić, where Nikola completed primary and middle school.

4. Higher Real Gymnasium studies

   1870-01-01 · Higher Real Gymnasium, Karlovac, Croatia

   Tesla moved to Karlovac for German-language secondary education at the Higher Real Gymnasium.

5. Return after graduation

   1873-01-01 · Smiljan, Croatia

   

   After graduating from the Karlovac gymnasium at age 17, Tesla returned to Smiljan and soon became seriously ill. The source places this return after his 1873 graduation; only the year is used.

6. Technical-college enrollment

   1875-01-01 · Imperial-Royal Technical College, Graz, Austria

   Tesla enrolled at the Imperial-Royal Technical College in Graz on a Military Frontier scholarship.

7. Draftsman work in Maribor

   1879-01-01 · Maribor, Slovenia

   

   A former classmate encountered Tesla in Maribor, where he was working as a draftsman.

8. Deportation return to Gospić

   1879-03-01 · Gospić, Croatia

   

   Tesla returned to Gospić after being deported from Maribor for lacking a residence permit.

9. Auditing university lectures

   1880-01-01 · Charles-Ferdinand University, Prague, Czech Republic

   Tesla went from Gospić to Prague, arriving too late to enroll but attending philosophy lectures as an auditor.

10. Telephone-exchange work

    1881-01-01 · Budapest, Hungary

    Tesla moved to Budapest, first working in the Central Telegraph Office and then becoming chief electrician at the Budapest Telephone Exchange.

11. Continental Edison employment

    1882-01-01 · Ivry-sur-Seine, France

    Tesla began electrical-installation work for Société Electrique Edison in Ivry-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris. The source supports 1882 and identifies Ivry-sur-Seine; no more precise date is given.

12. Emigration and Edison Machine Works

    1884-06-01 · Edison Machine Works, Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    Tesla emigrated to the United States and began work at Edison Machine Works on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Coordinates represent the historic Goerck Street area of Edison Machine Works.

13. Arc-lighting installation

    1885-01-01 · Rahway, New Jersey, United States

    

    Tesla built and installed an arc-lighting system in Rahway while securing his first United States patents.

14. Tesla Electric Company laboratory

    1887-01-01 · 89 Liberty Street, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    Tesla worked on motors, generators, and other electrical devices in the Tesla Electric Company's Manhattan laboratory. The laboratory was established in 1887; the card uses year precision.

15. Exposition Universelle visit

    1889-01-01 · Paris, France

    Tesla traveled to Paris in summer 1889 and learned of Hertz's electromagnetic-radiation experiments. The source specifies summer but not a month; year precision is used.

16. Grand Street laboratory

    1889-01-01 · 175 Grand Street, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    Tesla began a multi-year period of work from a laboratory at 175 Grand Street in Manhattan. The source gives a residence/work interval; 1889 records its beginning.

17. Wireless-lighting lecture

    1891-01-01 · Columbia College, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    Tesla demonstrated wireless lighting during a lecture at Columbia College in New York. Coordinates represent Columbia College's historic Midtown Manhattan campus.

18. South Fifth Avenue laboratory

    1892-01-01 · 33–35 South Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    Tesla began work from the fourth floor laboratory at 33–35 South Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The source gives a work interval; 1892 records its beginning.

19. Franklin Institute address

    1893-01-01 · Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

    

    Tesla spoke at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia about wireless transmission through the Earth. Coordinates represent the Franklin Institute's historic Philadelphia location; the source gives year only.

20. Wireless-power address

    1893-01-01 · St. Louis, Missouri, United States

    

    Tesla addressed onlookers in St. Louis on the prospect of sending intelligible signals or power without wires. The source supplies year but not a more precise date or venue in St. Louis.

21. World's Columbian Exposition demonstrations

    1893-01-01 · World's Columbian Exposition, Jackson Park, Chicago, Illinois, United States

    Tesla spent a week at Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition for the International Electrical Congress and gave demonstrations at the Westinghouse exhibit. The source gives year rather than the week of Tesla's visit.

22. East Houston Street laboratory

    1895-01-01 · 46–48 East Houston Street, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    Tesla began operating from laboratories on the sixth and seventh floors of 46 and 48 East Houston Street. The source gives a work interval; 1895 records its beginning.

23. Radio-controlled boat demonstration

    1898-01-01 · Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    Tesla publicly demonstrated his radio-controlled "telautomaton" boat at an electrical exhibition. Coordinates represent the site of the second Madison Square Garden, the 1898 venue.

24. Colorado Springs experimental station

    1899-01-01 · Tesla Experimental Station, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States

    

    Tesla established a high-altitude experimental station in Colorado Springs for larger-scale wireless-power experiments. Coordinates are a representative point for the historic Colorado Springs experimental-station area.

25. Commercial Club address

    1899-05-13 · Chicago, Illinois, United States

    

    While traveling to Colorado Springs, Tesla gave a Chicago address further demonstrating teleautomatics. The source identifies Chicago but not the Commercial Club's specific meeting venue.

26. Waldorf-Astoria residence

    1900-01-01 · Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    Tesla was living at the Waldorf-Astoria while seeking investors for his wireless-transmission plans. Coordinates represent the historic Waldorf-Astoria site at Fifth Avenue and West 33rd Street.

27. Wardenclyffe laboratory move

    1902-06-01 · Wardenclyffe, Shoreham, New York, United States

    

    Tesla transferred his laboratory operations from East Houston Street to the Wardenclyffe project site on Long Island.

28. Broadway office

    1906-01-01 · 165 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    After Wardenclyffe closed, Tesla opened a Manhattan office to seek capital through patent development and marketing.

29. Metropolitan Life Tower offices

    1910-01-01 · Metropolitan Life Tower, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    Tesla began a period of office work at the Metropolitan Life Tower in Manhattan. The source gives an office interval; 1910 records its beginning.

30. Allis-Chalmers work

    1919-01-01 · Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

    

    Tesla worked in Milwaukee for Allis-Chalmers during the later development of his bladeless-turbine ideas. The source gives a 1919–1922 interval; 1919 records its beginning.

31. St. Regis Hotel residence

    1922-01-01 · St. Regis Hotel, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    Tesla moved from the Waldorf-Astoria to the St. Regis Hotel, beginning a later pattern of hotel moves.

32. Hotel New Yorker residence

    1934-01-01 · Hotel New Yorker, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    Tesla moved to the Hotel New Yorker, where he would remain for the rest of his life.

33. Order of the White Lion ceremony

    1937-01-01 · Grand Ballroom, Hotel New Yorker, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    At a Hotel New Yorker event, Tesla received the Order of the White Lion from the Czechoslovak ambassador and a Yugoslav medal.

34. Death at Hotel New Yorker

    1943-01-07 · Hotel New Yorker, Manhattan, New York City, United States

    

    Tesla died alone in his hotel room at the Hotel New Yorker in Manhattan. The article identifies the room as Room 3327 of the Hotel New Yorker.