Serbia is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla |

Serbia is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Editor Leave a comment

Serbia is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla holding a gas-filled phosphor-coated light bulb which was illuminated without wires by an electromagnetic field from the “Tesla Coil”.

Serbia is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla with the opening of the Tesla Monument in Victoria Park, Niagara Falls (Canadian Side)

International Belgrade Airport named “Nikola Tesla Airport”

“Nikola Tesla Year 2006” proclaimed by UNESCO and Serbian and Croatian Government

Proposal for “Nikola Tesla Day”, July 10th, through the United Nations made by Tesla Memorial Society of New York and Tesla Forum from Australia.

The Archive of the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, named by UNESCO, “Memory of the World”.

Above: Serbia celebrated the 150th anniversary of Nikola Tesla with the unveiling of Tesla Monument at Niagara Falls (Canadian Side)
The Tesla Monument at Niagara Falls (Canadian side), Queen Victoria Park, unveiled on July 9, 2006. Tesla is standing atop an AC motor, one of the 700 inventions he patented. The monument was the work of Canadian sculptor Les Dryzdale.

Above: Tesla Monument at Niagara Falls unveiled on July 9, 2006. Tesla is standing atop an AC motor, one of the 700 inventions he patented. In the background is Niagara Falls, Canadian side.

Above: Les Drysdale, the famous Tesla monument sculptor with Dr. Ljubo Vujovic at the unveiling ceremony.

Above: Serbian Newspaper “Vesti” published an article about the unveiling of the Nikola Tesla Monument at Niagara Falls, Canadian side. Below the “Vesti” logo is the Nikola Tesla stamp, issued in the United States in 1983. The stamp is depicting his induction motor, which is one of the ten greatest discoveries of all time.

Nikola Tesla, a Serb born in Smiljan, then Austria-Hungary (later Yugoslavia, today’s Croatia) was one of the greatest scientists the world has ever known. He had spent most of his career life in the United States. Serbia has proclaimed this year to be the year dedicated to Nikola Tesla with various manifestations. Over 5,000 school students have visited the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade so far this year. A special program was held at the Sava Center congress hall with top Serbian officials attending. The Serbian Prime Minister hosted a reception for foreign diplomats and other distinguished guests. The monument to Nikola Tesla was unveiled at the Niagara Falls in Canada, broadcast live by the Serbian Television. Tesla is featured on the 100 dinar banknote of the National Bank of Serbia and special souvenir coins have been released in his honor. Plus, photos of some other events in memory of Nikola Tesla to whom the entire world owes a huge thank you, are below.

The following photos are credited to B92. Photo comments by Alex. Original text by Vecernje Novosti daily from Belgrade, translation by Alex.

Above: “Tesla’s World of Electricity” at the Belgrade City Hall

Above: The Belgrade International Airport is as of recently called the Nikola Tesla Belgrade International Airport and a monument dedicated to him has been unveiled at the airport on July 10, 2006.

Above: The Belgrade International Airport is as of recently called the Nikola Tesla Belgrade International Airport.

Above: Postal stamps released in honor of Nikola Tesla.

From left to right: Mr. Terry O’Reilly, producer of the Violet Fire opera, Mr. Dragomir Acovic, member of the Advisory Bodies of The Crown and HE Christos Panagopoulos, Ambassador of Greece to Serbia.

Above: Distinguished guests at the Reception of CP Alexander II and Princess Katherine in honour of Nikola Tesla held at The White Palace in Belgrade.

Above (left to right): Croatian Premier Ivo Sanader, President of Croatian Parliament Vladimir Sheks, Croatian President Stipe Mesic and Serbian President Boris Tadic among other distinguished guests. Serbian President Boris Tadic spoke at the opening ceremony of the Nikola Tesla Memorial Center in Lika, Croatia.

Above: Serbian President Boris Tadic speaking at the opening ceremony of the Nikola Tesla Memorial Center.
President Tadic said “My background is from Lika, Croatia, my grandmother was from the village of Raduca, below the Velebit Mountain”.

Above: Celebration of Tesla’s 150th birthday in “Sava Center” in Belgrade. Photo by Milutin Rajkovic.

Above: Celebration of Tesla’s 150th birthday in “Sava Center” in Belgrade.

Above: Celebration of Tesla’s 150th birthday in “Sava Center” in Belgrade. From left to right (first row): Radomir Naumov, Minister of Energy, Predrag Markovic, President of Serbian Parliament, Serbian President Boris Tadic, Aleksandar Popovic, Minister for Science, and Nikola Hajdin, President of the Serbian Academy of Sciences, among other distinguished guests.

Celebration of the 150th birthday of Nikola Tesla in the Serbian Ministry of Diaspora organized by Jupin, January 2006, Belgrade
Tesliana Academy

Above: Tesliana Academy, Belgrade – celebrating the 150th birthday of Nikola Tesla on January 2006.

Above: Tesliana Academy, Belgrade – celebrating the 150th birthday of Nikola Tesla on January 2006. Dr. Ljubo Vujovic presents a watch to the President of Jupin, Ljubinko Ilic.

Above: Tesliana Academy, Belgrade – celebrating the 150th birthday of Nikola Tesla on January 2006. In the foreground is Dr. Ljubo Vujovic (Secretary General, Tesla Memorial Society of New York), Vojislav Vukcevic (Minister of Diaspora), Zeljko Saric (Secretary for the Balkans, Tesla Memorial Society of New York) and Ranko Grajic (Board Member, Tesla Memorial Society of New York).

Above: Tesliana Academy, Belgrade – celebrating the 150th birthday of Nikola Tesla on January 2006.

Above: Tesliana Academy, Belgrade – celebrating the 150th birthday of Nikola Tesla on January 2006. Ranko Grujic, Board Member of the Tesla Memorial Society of New York is speaking.

Above: Tesliana Academy, Belgrade – celebrating the 150th birthday of Nikola Tesla on January 2006. From left to right: Ranko Grujic and known sculptor, Prf. Dr. Dragan Radenovic.

Above: Tesliana Academy, Belgrade – celebrating the 150th birthday of Nikola Tesla on January 2006.
Dr. Ljubo Vujovic is speaking at the Tesliana Academy.

Above: Tesliana Academy, Belgrade – celebrating the 150th birthday of Nikola Tesla on January 2006. Dr. Ljubo Vujovic received a Tesla Award from Ljubinko Ilic, President of Jupin. Zeljko Saric (Secretary for the Balkans, Tesla Memorial Society of New York) is on the right.

Commemoration for Nikola Tesla in the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of “St Sava” in Manhattan, New York

Above: Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava, New York. Click on the image above to visit their website.

Above: Commemoration for Nikola Tesla in the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of “St Sava” in Manhattan, New York.

Above: Commemoration for Nikola Tesla in the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of “St Sava” in Manhattan, New York. V Rev. Djokan Majstorovic is serving the holy liturgy.

Above: Commemoration for Nikola Tesla in the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of “St Sava” in Manhattan, New York.

Above: Commemoration for Nikola Tesla in the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of “St Sava” in Manhattan, New York. V Rev. Djokan Majstorovic is serving the holy liturgy and Dr. Ljubo Vujovic is in the foreground.

Above: Commemoration for Nikola Tesla in the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of “St Sava” in Manhattan, New York. Captain Svetozar Todorovic (second from left) is a Board Member of the Tesla Memorial Society of New York and Mira Luna (far right) is the President of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Nikola Tesla’s Visit To Belgrade, 1892

“I HAVE REMAINED A SERB EVEN ACROSS THE OCEAN”

On June 1, 1892, around 11 pm, Tesla arrived to Belgrade.

Tall, in a black suit, holding a suitcase in his hand, Tesla stood at the Belgrade Railway Station (still in use today) where he was greeted by enthusiastic crowds of masses. He walked slowly, trying to get through the masses, which gave him plenty of flowers and told him that he was the greatest Serbian son. Touched by the reception of his fellow countrymen, he said, modestly:

– I feel much more than I can say. Please do not measure the extent of my feelings by the weakness of my words… If I am fortunate enough to fullfill at least some of my ideals, that will do good for the whole of mankind. If that is achieved, I will be glad to say that a Serb has done it.

Then he took a specially decorated horse carriage to the Imperial Hotel which used to be near Captain Misha’s Building (today the Rectorate of Belgrade University). On June 2, he was received by the young Serbian King, Alexander Obrenovic. Tesla told the Serbian King that Belgrade will need to introduce electricity. The King was fascinated by Tesla’s words and demonstrations. Belgrade, at that time with a population of 60,000 people, got electricity the following year (1893). It was a huge and widely celebrated event.

The King wanted to award Tesla with the Medal of St. Sava for extraordinary contribution to science. But, since Tesla was legally a citizen of the United States of America, the medal was sent to him later on, via diplomatic postal service. The then US Secretary of State John Foster approved the action and Tesla got the medal of the Serbian King on January 27, 1893 – on Saint Sava Day.

Back to Tesla’s visit, after visiting the King and being an honored guest at lunch at the Imperial Hotel, Tesla was greeted at the Grand Ecole or Great School – the predecessor of Belgrade University, by the rector and students who turned up to listen to the genius. “As you can see and hear, I have been a Serb and have remained a Serb across the ocean. You should also be the same, and with your hard work and knowledge you should bring pride to Serbs everywhere”. The cheers of the crowds were enormous.

At the medieval park and fortress of Kalemegdan, Tesla was greeted by the Obilic Singer Society. They performed for him. Then, he visited the National Museum, followed by a splendid dinner at the Vajfertovac restaurant at Topcider Hill. (Today, at that place is BIP – the Belgrade Beer Industry). The King accompanied Tesla on all those manifestations.

Tesla was most touched by a speech of the Serbian poet, writer and children’s writer Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj. Touched by the patriotic tones of the speech, Tesla kissed the poet’s hand and said:

– When I had a most difficult time in America, when I was abandoned and misunderstood by everyone, I read your poetry with tears in my eyes, and now I promise you that I will translate your work to English and publish it so that the world can read it as well. I think that will do more for Serbdom than all of my work on electricity. I am so proud to be Serb, and this night has provided me with the happiest and most precious moment of my life. That very moment is happening now, when I hear those wonderful words from a man whom I deeply respect and whose poems I have read, kissed and covered with my tears in that far away land.

The well wishes continued on till the early hours of the morning with cheerful music and laughter.

In the morning, Tesla took the train to various European countries and eventually arrived back to the United States.

“Military Frontier” of Austro-Hungarian Border against Turkish invasion

At the time of Tesla’s birth in 1856, Tesla’s birthplace in Smiljan, Lika was a part of the Austro-Hungarian “Military Frontier”, as a defense border area against Turkish invasions which tried to invade Western Europe. It was built at by the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy at the south-east border of the empire which extended thousand of miles from the Adriatic Coast and Lika Region to Voyvodina – the northern part of Serbia. The “Military Frontier” was inhabited mostly by Serbian populations, Serbs defended the Christian Europe against the Ottoman Turks. For their bravery in wars against the Turks, the Serbs were given land by the Austrian Empress. The “Military Frontier” was abolished in 1881.

Text below taken from the International Symposium Nikola Tesla, happening on October 18-20, 2006.

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) significantly influenced technological development with his polyphase system inventions. The system is in cornerstone of modern electrical energy production, long-distance transmission, and use of electrical currents. Beside inventing the induction motor, he invented the Tesla coil – a high frequency transformer, which is an essential part of all contemporary high frequency devices. Tesla also pioneered research into other effects produced by his currents, such as the possibility of induction heating, ozone production, and effects on the human organism. His inventions have been crucial to the development of many of today’s technologies including the radio, radar, television, motors of all kinds, and computers. He is also credited with predicting the emerging energy problem as early as 1900. After death of Nikola Tesla in 1943, all his belongings have been inherited by his nephew and transferred to Belgrade where in 1955 the Nikola Tesla Museum has been opened. His ashes are also in the Museum. After his death, the name „Tesla“ was given to the unit of magnetic induction.

The Nikola Tesla Archive in Belgrade (Serbia and Montenegro) constitutes a unique collection of over 160,000 pages of the patents documentations, scientific correspondence, scientific papers, manuscripts, technical drawings, scientific measuring data, personal documents, and legal papers as well as over 1,000 original photographs of Tesla’s experiments and inventions, all of which are indispensable to the study of the history of electrification. Nikola Tesla’s Archive in Belgrade joins Memory of the World register.

Above (left): Nikola Tesla’s father Milutin, the priest of Serbian Orthodox Church. (Right) Tesla at age 23.

Nikola Tesla’s Family

Above: Tesla’s father Rev. Milutin Tesla, a Serbian Orthodox Priest. Tesla’s mother Duka Mandic, was never photographed.

Above: (from left) Nikola Tesla’s sisters: Milka, Angelina and Marica Tesla.

Above (left): Josif Tesla, brother of Nikola’s father. Above (right): Pajo Mandic, brother of Nikola’s mother.

Above: Graves of Nikola Tesla’s parents, Duka Tesla and Milutin Tesla. Cemetery in Lika, Croatia. This photo was taken by Milka Kajganić, publicist and journalist.

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Извор: http://www.teslasociety.com/serbia150.htm