Nikola Tesla - Lord of Electricity

My students asked me to read something about Nikola Tesla, the Lord of Electricity. I think this personality has such a huge impact on our lives that he is worth noticing. 

I used the magazine Drive as a credible source and tailored the text for each level of English in cooperation with my cooperative teacher 50+, Vlaďka.Here you can read the text for Advanced students.

The tesla (symbol T) is a unit of measurement of the strength of a magnetic field.Tesla was born on 10 July 1856 into a Serb family in Austrian-Hungarian Empire (modern-day Croatia).Tesla credited his eidetic memory and creative abilities to his mother’s genetics and influence.

He became interested in demonstrations of electricity by his physics professor. Tesla noted that these demonstrations of this „mysterious phenomena“ made him want „to know more of this wonderful force“.Tesla was able to perform integral calculus in his head, which prompted his teachers to believe that he was cheating.Tesla claimed that he worked from 3 a.m.to 11 p.m., no Sundays or holidays excepted.After his father’s death in 1879, Tesla found a package of letters from his professors to his father, warning that unless he were removed from the school, Tesla would die through overwork.But at the end of his 2nd year at University, he started gambling and didn’t finish his studies.His two uncles put together enough money to help him and sent him to study at Charles University in Prague.He arrived too late to enroll at Charles-Ferdinand University.However, he attended lectures at the university, as an auditor (he did not receive grades for the courses).

Working at Edison - Later, Nikola Tesla worked for Continental Edison Company in Paris.Management took notice of his advanced knowledge in engineering and physics and soon had him designing and building improved versions of generating dynamos and motors.In 1884 he was brought to the US where he began working almost immediately in Edison Machine Works, a manufacturing division.Tesla worked hard all his life, with no time for a family, and he earned lots of money from his patents.But he always invested his money in new inventions and laboratories, and he died very poor, aged 86.