NIKOLA
TESLA--
ERASED
AT THE SMITHSONIAN
Revised
August 14, 1999
NIKOLA
TESLA
HIS
NAME MARKS AN EPOCH IN ELECTRICAL SCIENCE
TESLA
EXPERIMENTING WITH ELECTRICITY IN 1899
AND
AS
A YOUNG MAN IN 1882
In
1882 he made the discovery that changed the world--harnessing the awesome power
of Alternating Current.
In
1888 he obtained U.S. patents covering an entire system of polyphase AC that
remains unchanged in principle today.
He
promptly sold all of his patents to George Westinghouse, an acquisition that
made the Westinghouse Company the giant it is today.
Westinghouse
and Tesla were consummate friends, but after Westinghouse died in 1913, the
company forgot about its chief benefactor and Tesla fell victim to hard times.
Tesla
died January 7, 1943, alone, and all but forgotten, in a New York hotel room,
paid for by a meager stipend provided by a foreign government.
Today,
industries flourish and the world surges from the power his fertile mind created...and
radios blare with news and music, their transmission made possible by his giant
intellect...all telling us that TESLA WAS HERE.
FARADAY
Tesla
is preceded in greatness only by Michael Faraday who in 1831 rocked the scientific
world with his discovery that magnetism can produce electricity...if it is accompanied
by motion. Faraday discovered the principle, but not how to make it power the
world; Tesla alone accomplished this singular feat.
Tesla
is the greatest inventor the world has ever forgotten. He is also the greatest
inventor the Smithsonian has 'swept under the carpet.'
I
am John W. Wagner, teacher...and I have a story to tell you about my successive
classes of Third Grade students whose efforts were thwarted by the Smithsonian
Institution.
We
need you to collaborate with us in our on-going campaign to secure Tesla's proper
place in history. As you continue reading our story you will learn how you can
participate. You will also learn how we are circumventing the Smithsonian and
correcting history.
I
provide an optional hot spot below that will take you to a black on white version
of the entire web site (less pictures) for printout.
NIKOLA
TESLA--
ERASED
AT THE SMITHSONIAN
(Continued)
REVERED
BY STUDENTS
THIRD
GRADERS' EFFORTS CRUSHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN
AMERICA'S
UNDERDOG
These
students learned the true story of electrical history...not the politically
correct version taught by a trusting but brainwashed educational system. When
we learned that Nikola Tesla was the underdog of electrical history and was
ignored by the Smithsonian, we made him our class hero and immediately started
a campaign to secure his proper place in history.
DECEPTION
AT THE SMITHSONIAN
Its
curator essentially credits Edison for our worldwide system of electricity.
He also credits Marconi for the invention of radio. This is a deliberate assault
on factual history and needs to be challenged.
WHO
DO YOU BELIEVE?
We
choose to believe the United States Patent Office and the U.S. Supreme Court
over the much distorted history the Smithsonian publicizes.
Tesla
holds over forty U.S. patents (circa 1888) covering our entire system of Polyphase
Alternating Current (AC). These patents are so novel that nobody could ever
challenge them in the courts.
The
Direct Current (DC) system Edison used in his much touted Pearl Street generating
station was invented by others before his time; he merely copied the work of
others to promote his business enterprise...and the Smithsonian wants you to
believe he was America's 'King of Electricity.' There is simply no evidence
to support this claim.
Lest
you jump to the wrong conclusion, we are not criticizing Mr. Edison whose Menlo
Park Laboratory workers were responsible for many practical inventions; we are
criticizing only the groups promoting Mr. Edison's name in the electrical power
field.
INVENTION
OF RADIO
The
U.S. Supreme Court, in a landmark decision dated June 21, 1943, Case No. 369,
overturned Marconi's basic patent for the invention of radio because Tesla's
patent on the four-tuned circuit (below) predated Marconi's patent. Marconi
had simply copied Tesla's work.
TESLA'S
FIRST VIABLE RADIO CIRCUIT IN 1893
UPHELD
BY THE SUPREME COURT
Tesla's
four-tuned circuits (two on the receiving side and two on the transmitting side,
secured by U.S. patents #645,576 and #649,621) were the basis of the U.S. Supreme
Court decision (Case #369 decided June 21, 1943) to overturn Marconi's basic
patent on the invention of radio.
Marconi
merely demonstrated Tesla's invention, but the gullible media and the greedy
industry that followed perpetuate a myth that Marconi invented radio. Who do
you believe has more credibility...the industries that promote their own businesses,
or the U.S. Supreme Court?
Marconi's
two-tuned circuit system was the same as that advanced by Heinrich Hertz and
was no more a viable system of radio than that advanced by Mahlon Loomis in
1872...long before Hertz or Tesla. In one of my LINK pages I tell the complete
story in legal and technical terms. Any unbiased reader should arrive at the
same conclusion.
OUR
QUEST
After
we learned the heart wrenching story of Tesla's life, and realized what a great
American he was, we wanted to tell the world about him...and we did. We wrote
many letters to important people asking for their support.
A
former student persuaded her father, an accomplished sculptor, to create a bust
of Tesla for our class, but we had to pay for the materials.
A
third grade requirement is to learn cursive handwriting, so our class work now
had a purpose...WRITING LETTERS to raise money for our Tesla bust.
Here
are pictures of Jessica and Cory, two super letter writers.
EVIDENCE
OF MOTIVATION
This
is a photogrph of the impeccably crafted letters we wrote to more than one hundred
American corporation presidents and CEO's. Many responded with generous checks
to support our campaign. We even received a check from the president of Sony
Corporation in Japan.
NIKOLA
TESLA--
ERASED
AT THE SMITHSONIAN
(Continued)
This
is a photograph of our finished bust we offered to the Smithsonian. Dr. Bernard
S. Finn, (Curator of the Division of Electricity and Modern Physics) refused
us, claiming he had no use for it.
We
could not understand why the Smithsonian would have no use for a $6,000 bust
of such a great American and world-class scientist.
HONORED
BY THE WORLD
Tesla
is one of only two Americans to have a unit of electrical measurement named
in his honor.
Names
for units of electrical measurement are derived by using the names of scientists
who made the greatest contributions in electrical science, forming perhaps the
most elite group in the world.
Throughout
the entire history of electrical science only fifteen men worldwide have received
this honor. Tesla is one of these great men. (Edison is not.)
In
addition, Tesla received fifteen honorary degrees from famous universities worldwide,
including Yale and Columbia in the United States. He also received fourteen
Awards of Merit from other world-class groups.
Dr.
David L. Goodstein, Vice Provost and Professor of Physics at California Institute
of Technology, calls Tesla one of the "Saints of Science" and equates
him to Leonardo Da Vinci.
ERASED
BY THE SMITHSONIAN
THE
BRAINWASHERS
I
urge you to continue reading our web site for a juicy story of how our country's
premier museum (The Smithsonian Institution) deceives the public by writing
biased history...and their curator is doing this in consort with the History
Committee of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) at Rutgers
University.
NOT
ALL GUILTY
The
majority of IEEE members are oblivious of the Smithsonian and the IEEE History
Committee's biased agenda. Nevertheless, everyone who does not speak out against
their wrongful depiction of electrical history deserves having their children
spoon-fed the popular corrupted version.
A
TRIP TO THE SMITHSONIAN
When
I visited the Smithsonian to learn why Dr. Finn had no use for our Tesla bust,
the reason became indelibly clear.
Please
remember, at this time I was still naive about the Smithsonian's bias against
Tesla; that is, until I saw......
YES,
A BUST OF EDISON
Next
to Edison's bust I saw Tesla's invention that revolutionized the world. I was
struck dumb and neglected to take a photograph, but here is a drawing of Tesla's
rotating magnetic field device I saw, giving us polyphase AC and the AC motor...
Tesla's
U.S. patent number was on his invention, but I could not find any recognition
for Tesla.
When
I asked Dr. Finn why he had placed Edison's bust on display next to Tesla's
invention, he he said the sculptor was a phrenologist and wanted to examine
the bumps on Edison's head; this made it authentic.
We
now feel that even if the Smithsonian wanted our bust, we would decline; they
have lost credibility.
The
entire electrical display at the Smithsonian (including their web site) focuses
on Edison's brief business enterprise that failed. This is not a story of invention,
but of big business.
Edison
used Direct Current (DC), a technology invented and developed by others (before
his time), as a means of powering his incandescent lamp. Big business and the
gullible media have exaggerated this story so much that now everyone believes
Edison is the father of our system of electrical power.
Please
continue reading to learn how you can help correct history. Trust me...this
is the ONLY way. We must reintroduce Tesla to the academic community through
students...and we are starting with our country's top engineering schools.
NIKOLA
TESLA--
ERASED
AT THE SMITHSONIAN
(Continued)
YES,
our history books are wrong. Nikola Tesla is the King of Electricity--NOT Edison.
NIKOLA
TESLA OMITTED
The
Smithsonian Book of Invention is an extra-large hardcover book almost 7/8 of
an inch thick. Many inventors and their inventions are shown and their impact
on civilization discussed...including Edison, Archie Bunker, and Colonel Sanders.
Tesla and his epic- causing discoveries are omitted.
Is
it any wonder many Americans have lost faith in the Smithsonian? Their leaders
are not only writing biased electrical history, they are systematically dismantling
our country's historical heritage and replacing it with trash to promote their
own social and liberal agenda.
CREDIT
ESSENTIALLY GIVEN TO EDISON
FOR
TESLA'S INVENTION
Dr.
Bernard S. Finn is Curator and first author of this Smithsonian publication.
In his section entitled "The Beginning of the Electrical Age," he
names 43 contributors to the science of electricity. Mr. Edison's name is cited
many times along with his photographs, but Nikola Tesla's name is omitted.
Equally
outrageous is the Niagara Falls power station picture of Tesla's AC generators
on the last page...and Dr. Finn's concluding remark: "When the Niagara
Falls power station began operating in 1895, it signaled the final major act
in the revolutionary drama that began in Menlo Park in the fall of 1879."
NIKOLA
TESLA--
ERASED
AT THE SMITHSONIAN
(Continued)
BRAINWASHED
By
this time the totally brainwashed reader is led to believe that our electrical
world started with Mr. Edison at Menlo Park and then he finished electrifying
America in 1895 by creating the Niagara Falls power station. Yet it was Tesla's
U.S. patents that were used in that power plant's creation and Edison had no
role in the project. Edison actually fought the adoption of AC bitterly by waging
his infamous "War of the Currents"...culminating in his creation of.........
THE
FIRST ELECTRIC CHAIR (1890 drawing)
Yes,
it was Thomas Edison who invented the electric chair to frighten people away
from the use of Tesla's AC system of electricity.
EDISON
ELECTROCUTED ANIMALS FIRST
This
drawing (circa 1889) is that of a horse being electrocuted in Edison's Menlo
Park laboratory. Edison was also known for paying children 25 cents for each
stray dog they could bring him. Then he would hold press conferences and electrocute
the dogs at public gatherings in a desperate attempt to frighten people away
from using AC. He claimed DC could not kill...but in truth DC could also kill.
Edison
felt it was necessary to experiment killing animals before he could guarantee
his electric chair would kill efficiently.
THE
IRONY OF IT ALL
Is
it not classic irony that today Americans hold Edison in such high esteem, many
even paying their electric bills to companies bearing his name, while Tesla,
the real hero, is essentially erased from history at the Smithsonian?
NIKOLA
TESLA--
ERASED
AT THE SMITHSONIAN
and
T-SHIRT
ORDER PAGE (below)
(Continued)
Do
You Still Believe The Smithsonian Is Squeaky Clean?
SMITHSONIAN
SNUBS WRIGHT BROTHERS
When
you visit the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian you see this
famous Wright Flyer that made man's first successful flight December 17, 1903.
What Smithsonian officials do not tell you is that they snubbed the Wright brothers
for 45 years, refusing to acknowledge their great accomplishment and install
this famous plane in the museum.
They did this because their own head of the Smithsonian, Samuel P. Langley,
built an airplane shortly before the Wright brothers...but it could not fly!
Forty-five years is a long time for the Smithsonian to deny the truth. Wilbur
died Spring 1912, weakened by his nine-year dispute with the Smithsonian. Orville
gave up the fight in 1928 and sent his famous plane to the Museum of London
as a gesture of contempt for the Smithsonian.
American public pressure increased in the years that followed. Many people wondered
why our famous Wright Flyer was in London instead of here in America.
Orville died January 1948. Later that year the Smithsonian finally agreed to
bring the plane back from London to be formally installed December 17, 1948.
Unfortunately, neither of the Wright brothers lived long enough to know that
their own country officially acknowledged their great accomplishment.
The
Smithsonian is cheating the public from learning Tesla's history in much the
same way as they did with the Wright Brothers.
ARE
YOU INCENSED ENOUGH TO WANT TO HELP US?
There
is really only one way to combat the Smithsonian's wrongful depiction of electrical
history...BY EDUCATION.
We
cannot hope to match the millions of dollars industry and the Edison Institute
spend promoting Edison's name, but I think we can make a significant impact
on many of our country's future engineering students by donating Tesla busts
to our leading engineering schools.
OUR
RECORD
From
our previous effort we were able to have five (6) high quality Tesla busts (as
shown on Page 3) cast, and we donated one each to Caltech, Harvard, Michigan,
MIT, Princeton, and Yale.
WHY?
These
busts, placed where countless thousands of our best engineering students will
see them, should go a long way toward formally recognizing Tesla's monumental
scientific achievements. The inscription on our plaque tells what he accomplished.
NIKOLA
TESLA
1856
- 1943
AMERICAN
INVENTOR
HIS
NAME MARKS AN EPOCH
In
a single burst of invention he created the polyphase alternating current system
of motors and generators that powers our world. He gave us every essential of
radio, and laid the foundation for much of today's technology.
HOW
YOU CAN HELP
We
need your support. In short, we need you to buy our T-shirts. This is the only
way we have to earn money for additional busts. Apathy in addressing this task
will only allow Smithsonian officials to continue their historical mendacity
unchallenged.
YOU
BE THE JUDGE
Instead
of badgering the Smithsonian to write correct history, is it not better to have
the Smithsonian scamper to catch-up to a group of third graders who are already
writing correct history in our leading engineering schools?
NIKOLA
TESLA--
ERASED
AT THE SMITHSONIAN
(Continued)
SQUEAKY
WHEEL INSTRUCTIONS
ANOTHER
WAY TO HELP
Become
a squeaky wheel. I have found that squeaky wheels are eventually oiled. Write
your concerns to the Secretary of the Smithsonian--he is the boss.
FOLLOW-UP
IS MOST IMPORTANT
If
you do not get a reply within ten days, write to your U.S. Congressman and complain
about not getting a reply to your letter. You will probably receive a reply,
but it may not be from Secretary Heyman. It will sound reasonable, but don't
believe it. I have received the same Washington double talk for years. If you
have the sport for it, maintain a dialog with them; it is the essence of being
a squeaky wheel. The Smithsonian will eventually make a halfhearted attempt
to appease people on this matter, but it will not go far enough, nor will it
last. In the end, the Smithsonian will maintain its present policy...but people
who understand their modus operandi will not be fooled.
YOU
HAVE RIGHTS
The
Smithsonian is partially supported financially by the U.S. Government. This
means they are responsible to the people. In short, your tax dollars pay part
of their salaries, and they are obliged to respond to your legitimate concerns
of how they run their museums.
Please
direct your letter of complaint to:
Mr.
Ira Michael Heyman, Secretary
Smithsonian
Institution
Washington,
D.C. 20560
Click
to send him a message: si.mheyman@ic.si.edu
Click
to send your U.S. Senator a message:
http://www.yellowstone.net/newspaper/senate.htm
Click
to send your U.S. Representative a message:
http://www.yellowstone.net/newspaper/houseofreps.htm
Please
keep reading; you will love my concise and critical analysis of the Smithsonian's
web page. I make it easy for you to see how the Smithsonian cleverly twists
information to fit its biased agenda.
NIKOLA
TESLA--
ERASED
AT THE SMITHSONIAN
(Continued)
ANALYSIS
OF NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY HALL OF ELECTRICITY HOME PAGE
WHAT
IS THE PROBLEM?
As
in many institutions, the Smithsonian is not without its problems, and money
is often at the root. Approximately 83% of its operating funds come from the
federal government, and the remaining 17% come from donations and what
can be earned from grants from American industries.
Naturally when an industry gives money to the Smithsonian the curators feel
obliged to favor the history of that industry as much as possible in their displays
or publications.
CLASSIC
EXAMPLES:
Two
examples of this assault on history are: (1) The Edison Institute (2) The Orkin
Company (you know, the bug killers).
In the case of the Edison Institute, they routinely give money to have Smithsonian
curators write a story and create a display featuring Edison and his invention
of the incandescent lamp.
In depicting the history of Edison's incandescent lamp, the curator loses perspective
of historical events and omits critical parts in order to show favor to The
Edison Institute.
LIGHT
IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS MECHANICAL ENERGY!
The
curator hails the invention of the light bulb as being the cause of the second
industrial revolution. It was NOT!
Nikola Tesla's invention of the AC motor was clearly what American industry
needed to escalate that revolution. It provided the necessary muscle to do the
work. This is not to say that light was not a welcome advancement for industry,
but its importance pales in comparison to the AC motor.
THE
TALL TALE STARTS
The
curator traces the history of Edison's business enterprise (of building direct
current [DC] power stations) to power his incandescent lamp.
In doing so he creates the false illusion for a naive citizenry that Edison
was the inventor of electricity...when, in fact, he was merely a businessman
using a technology others had already developed.
Direct current technology was dead from the beginning because it is impossible
to send DC power more than a half mile from its generating station.
Readers should take a moment to examine the National Museum of American History's
"Hall of Electricity" Home Page.
ANALYSIS
OF THEIR OWN WORDS:
The
following are direct quotations from the "Hall of Electricity" web
page:
"The displays help illuminate how Thomas Edison's light bulb and other
inventions began to transform our world."
Notice how the curator gives emphasis to Edison's light bulb, but omits naming
the "other inventions." He even uses the word "illuminate"
to describe what the displays will do for the observer, further leading the
reader to believe that Edison and his light bulb "transformed the world."
OMISSIONS
TELL A STORY TOO:
"The
rest of the hall is devoted to a separate exhibition, "Lighting a Revolution."
At the end of the19th century, a new way of transmitting power came to the fore
-- electricity. In 1876, at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, a few arc
lights were shown. They were very bright, suitable only for large open spaces.
Three years later, Thomas Edison announced his invention of the incandescent
light bulb, and on New Year's eve in 1879 drew a crowd of 3,000 visitors to
his Menlo Park, New Jersey, complex to see the buildings and grounds aglow in
the softer light of his creation. Lighting a Revolution explains in detail the
complex circumstances behind Edison's revolution."
Notice how the curator emphasizes light. Also, he talks of "a new way
of transmitting power at the end of the 19th century."
Is he is referring to 1876, or perhaps to Edison burying thick copper cables
underground capable of carrying direct current in 1882-- which is not exactly
the end of the 19th century...or is he referring to the truly new way of transmitting
power that came in 1895 with Tesla's polyphase AC system first installed at
Niagara Falls?
No doubt, the naive reader automatically thinks the curator is referring to
AC (most readers are not familiar with DC).
THE
GUIDING LIGHT:
"Edison
and his colleagues produced not merely a light bulb but an electrical system,
and the next section tells the story of his early power plants, including the
first central at Pearl Street in New York City, which began producing power
on September 4, 1882."
Again, the curator carefully steers the reader to believe that Edison is responsible
for every advancement made in electricity.
He also carefully steers the reader to believe that Edison's lamp created the
revolution.
EDISON'S
FAILURE:
"Edison's
success drew competitors, some of whom improved on his methods, especially through
the introduction of alternating current, which ultimately supplanted his direct-current
system. The next section of the exhibition shows the lamps, meters, generators,
and other devices of some of these competitors and explains the reasons why
alternating current proved superior to direct current."
The curator calls Edison's enterprise a success...when, in fact, it was
NOT. Tesla tried to give (yes, give) his AC system to Edison because he realized
direct current technology was flawed, but Edison stubbornly refused to acknowledge
the superiority of Tesla's AC system.
Notice how the curator carefully avoids using Tesla's name and refers to him
only as a 'competitor'.
It was Tesla who held over 40 U.S. patents on a complete AC system that proved
to be the breakthrough discovery the world thought was impossible.
THIS
IS TOO MUCH!
"An
Edison electric motor of about 1890. In 1895 a large remote generating station
began producing electricity at Niagara Falls. Less than two decades after Edison's
invention, electricity thus was accepted as a principal means of power transmission.
A revolution had taken place. Cheap electric power made new industrial processes
possible, such as the economical production of aluminum. Eventually this power
reached the city and the home, where its influence is made clear in a case filled
with early 20th-century appliances such as fans, coffee pots, and vacuum cleaners."
First, the curator shows a picture of an "Edison" electric
motor of about 1890, setting the stage for continued glorification of Edison.
Tesla created a worldwide revolution in electrical science two years earlier
(1888) when he introduced his new AC motor, yet the curator persists in talking
about an 1890 old technology motor of which Edison had made no scientific contribution.
In the next sentence--after displaying an "Edison" motor (which he
did not invent)--the curator tells of the Niagara Falls power generating station.
The curator fails to explain that the Niagara plant was designed to generate
AC power using Tesla's system--Tesla's patents had to be licensed to build it--and
he carefully avoids identifying Tesla as the creator of this project.
Instead, the curator states, "less than two decades after Edison's invention,
electricity thus was accepted as a principal means of power transmission."
The curator, by using deceptive semantics and omissions, leads the reader to
believe that two decades after Edison's invention of the "light bulb,"
Edison introduced electrical power to the world.
Then he reinforces his statement by stating that "a revolution had taken
place." (implying that Edison had caused that revolution.)
The curator is correct in stating that a revolution had taken place, but he
failed to credit the person who caused that revolution...Nikola Tesla.
In the curator's next statement he tells how "cheap electric power made
new industrial processes possible, such as the economical production of aluminum."
The above statement is a particularly flagrant deception.
The production of aluminum requires an enormous amount of electricity that only
AC can provide. The curator, by omitting Tesla's name as the creator of polyphase
AC, guides the reader to believe that Edison was responsible for the electricity
needed to germinate the aluminum industry. (Of course, the aluminum industry
is what spawned the aircraft industry...all made possible by Tesla's AC power.)
The curator continues to describe how electricity (presumably from Edison) brought
numerous consumer items to market...citing the vacuum cleaner and fans. He carefully
neglects to mention that vacuum cleaners and fans use Tesla's AC motors.
This curator, in his zeal to highlight Edison, creates the false illusion that
Edison was the inventor of our entire electrical world.
WHAT
EDISON REALLY DID:
Edison's
greatest creation was his invention factory at Menlo Park, NJ.
From that factory came many wonderful and practical inventions, but electrical
power was NOT one of them.
The curator is dead wrong in claiming there was creativity in Edison's power
enterprise.
There was creativity from the Menlo Park group for the invention of the incandescent
lamp, the phonograph, the moving picture machine, and other popular devices,
but not electric power!
Edison merely expanded upon a known technology and was too stubborn (or stupid)
to recognize its limitations.
A
BUG KILLER MADE IT TO THE SMITHSONIAN
In
the case of the Orkin Company, it donated a half million dollars in 1992 to
the National Museum of Natural History. In exchange, the Smithsonian agreed
to create a permanent display honoring Otto Orkin, founder of the Orkin Company
-- another example of our prestigious Smithsonian catering to corporate commercialism.
WHAT
IS INVENTION?
The
dictionary describes it in the classical sense...that of finding out --discovery.
The Smithsonian's liberal definition of 'invention' certainly violates this
definition; instead, supplanting it with entrepreneurship.
For
example, if we asked the question, "who invented medicine?"
Would
it be the first man who proposed theories of nature's properties, without ever
knowing their possible applications?
Would
it be a second man who then proved the existence of these properties--again
without realizing their possible application?
Was
it a third man who then built on this knowledge and made the first application
of nature's properties by actually making a medicine and proving that it worked?
Or
was it a fourth man who made a business from the first three men's discoveries?
While
it would be grossly unfair to give the third man full credit because he used
the knowledge gained by the first two, it should be unthinkable to afford any
credit to the fourth man.
Such
is the situation with Edison and Marconi.
They
were clever businessmen who received much publicity, and this usually creates
false perceptions. The Smithsonian's wrongful depiction of electrical history
simply enhances this perception.
THE
BOTTOM LINE:
When
the Smithsonian refuses to acknowledge a world-class American scientist, we
feel it is time to speak out and demand that changes be made in the administration
of our country's greatest museum.
NIKOLA
TESLA--
ERASED
AT THE SMITHSONIAN
(Continued)
CONCLUSIONS
Please
do not believe that any 'one-man' invented our system of electricity, nor did
any 'one-man' invent radio.
The story of the rise of electricity is long and beautiful, and should not be
altered by biased historical interpretations of entrepreneurial experiments
made by the many inventors who followed the 'Great Discoverers.'
Thomas Edison is a classic example of a businessman who was successful in utilizing
the talents of others to create many useful devices that became popular with
people, but practical electricity came only from Nikola Tesla.
Marchese Guglielmo Marconi was the first to send a message across the ocean
and, as a result of his business interests later, he is partly responsible for
'developing' radio...but he did NOT invent it.
Men such as William Gilbert, Charles Coulomb, Alessandro Volta, Hans Christian
Oersted, Andre-Marie Ampere, Georg Simon Ohm, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell,
Heinrich Hertz, and Nikola Tesla are the true inventors of electrical power
and radio. Yet these science heroes are mentioned only in certain college courses.
Therefore their accomplishments are virtually unknown to the majority of people.
It is impossible to say which one of these great discoverers made the most significant
contribution to science, but one fact is indelibly clear...Nikola Tesla made
the final breakthrough in the electrical power area with his rotating magnetic
field principle.
He also made the final breakthrough in radio by devising his four-tuned circuit
idea which was the first viable radio system, and demonstrated how it would
serve mankind in the future. His system is basic to all
As
you can see from the above as far as I am concerned one must be very careful
in what one believes. I also choose to believe the U.S. Patent office and the
Supreme Court. I also choose to believe the author of the article in the Phoenix
Gazette so very long ago. You are of course free to make up your own mind.