Nikola Tesla: He Arrived With Almost Nothing… Then Lit Up a World's Fair

In 1884, a tall young man arrived in New York with almost no money.

Nine years later, his idea lit up a whole world's fair.

But first, he had to win a battle against the most famous inventor in America.

This is the story of Nikola Tesla.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Current. An electric current is a flow of electricity through a wire.

Edison's current could not travel far.

Generator. A generator is a machine that turns movement into electricity.

At Niagara Falls, giant generators used the power of falling water.

Rivalry. A rivalry is a long fight between two sides that both want to win.

Newspapers called the rivalry the war of the currents.

Illuminate. To illuminate a place means to fill it with light.

The past is illuminated.

Tens of thousands of lamps illuminated the fair.

Eccentric. An eccentric person behaves in strange and unusual ways.

In his old age, Tesla was famously eccentric.

Now, one pattern: whereas.

We use whereas to compare two facts that are very different.

Edison liked DC.

Tesla chose AC.

Edison liked DC, whereas Tesla chose AC.

Ready? Let's begin.

Nikola Tesla was born in 1856 in a small village in what is now Croatia.

A famous story, maybe a legend, says he was born during a lightning storm.

Later, Tesla said he could see machines in his mind and test them there before he built them.

In 1882, walking in a park in Budapest, he suddenly saw the answer to an old problem.

He drew it in the sand with a stick: a motor for alternating current.

Most systems of the time used direct current, whereas his motor needed the other kind.

In 1884, he arrived in New York with almost no money.

He went to work for Thomas Edison, the most famous inventor in America.

But the two men did not agree.

Edison liked DC, whereas Tesla chose AC.

Edison's current could not travel far.

Tesla said he was promised a big bonus, but he never got it.

He left. For a while, he dug ditches for $2 a day.

Then, in 1888, the businessman George Westinghouse bought the rights to his alternating current motor.

Now a bitter battle began.

Edison warned that alternating current was dangerous.

Westinghouse and Tesla insisted it was safe, cheaper and better.

Newspapers called the rivalry the war of the currents.

Which current would win?

In 1893, Chicago held a huge world's fair.

Westinghouse offered to light it for far less money than its rival.

On 1 May, the President of the United States pressed a button, and the great machines started.

That night, tens of thousands of lamps illuminated the fair.

The white buildings shone like a dream.

Millions of visitors saw the power of alternating current with their own eyes.

Three years later, at Niagara Falls, giant generators used the power of falling water.

At midnight in November 1896, the electricity reached the city of Buffalo, more than 30 kilometres away.

Today, most of the world's electricity is alternating current.

But Tesla was never good with money.

In his old age, Tesla was famously eccentric.

He lived alone in hotels, loved the number three and fed the pigeons of New York every day.

He died in 1943 with very little money.

Edison became a rich businessman, whereas Tesla died poor.

But today, a scientific unit of magnetism carries Tesla's name, and every time we switch on a light, we use his idea.

Let's review. Edison's current could not travel far.

At Niagara Falls, giant generators used the power of falling water.

Newspapers called the rivalry the war of the currents.

Tens of thousands of lamps illuminated the fair.

In his old age, Tesla was famously eccentric.

And remember: Edison liked DC, whereas Tesla chose AC.

Nikola Tesla's story teaches us: a great idea can light up the world, even if its inventor never gets rich.

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