The Tesla Papers Page 1

The idea for this report was suggested during my attendance in Niagara Falls, New York, at the Tesla Cultural Days 1980 presented by the Tesla Memorial Society of the U. S. and Canada the week-end of July 11-12, 1980. On Saturday of July 12, during a reception prior to the first American showing of the Zagreb film "Secret of Nikola Tesla" I had the pleasure of meeting Professor Michael Boro Petrovich. At that time I related to him as Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin, what I knew of Tesla, his papers, what happened to them between the day of his death to their final delivery and deposit in the Tesla Museum in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in the month of July, 1952. Also present during this conversation were Mr. Nicholas Kosanovic and Congressman John Blatnik. a friend from my Washington, D. C. days in the 50's.

The following facts and events are known to me due to my association with Mr. Sava N. Kosanovic, a nephew of Nikola Tesla, and members of his family, as will be borne out in this report. Everybody else with knowledge of these events is no longer alive. Therefore, I wish this record to be available in the archives of the Tesla Society.

The writer came to New York City from Detroit on June 1, 1942 to work as secretary to Sava N. Kosanovic, Minister of State in the Yugoslav Government-in-Exile at the Yugoslav Information Center, 812 Fifth Avenue, New York. I met Mr. Kosanovic on Pearl Harbor Day when asked to translate his speech from Serbo-Croat into English for presentation at the American Slav Congress banquet at the Masonic Temple, Detroit, at which Mr. Francis Biddle, U. S. Attorney General, as guest speaker, informed those present of the attack upon Pearl Harbor by Japan.

I learned of SNK's relationship to Tesla when King Peter II of Yugoslavia, while visiting the United States and Canada from London, called upon Tesla++ in his New Yorker Hotel suite. (Photographs available.) That fall SNK was hospitalized for emergency appendectomy when a call came into the office from Mr. Tesla. I learned later he was in the habit of phoning his nephew at his apartment in the Hotel Navarro at all times of the night. (Mr. Kenneth Swezey was recipient of many such calls.) Tesla's problem was need of money immediately. His voice sounded old, weak, quavery and far-away. He said $50 would suffice.

Next day, upon arrival in the lobby of the New Yorker Hotel I rang his room. After a long period of time and many rings the operator cut in to say, "Please be patient. Sometimes Dr. Tesla takes a long time to answer." Finally, I heard his voice (same as the day before) saying "hello" and asking me to come up after I explained my mission. For some reason this surprised me a bit.

* for Sava N. Kosanovic
++ July 8, 1942

I felt he might ask me to leave the money at the desk or have it sent up by a bellhop having heard that he had become somewhat of a recluse. His suite was at the end of the hall on the 33rd floor. I knocked and was asked to enter.

There sitting on the bed was Nikola Tesla. To me he seemed to have become much weaker compared to his appearance in photographs of the visit of King Peter just a few months earlier. He was in pajamas. His hair was sparse, all white, parted in the center. His face was gaunt and he looked absolutely emaciated. His eyes were piercingly sharp. His bed was an old-fashioned one, brass, I believe. Between us was an old-fashioned, round dining-room table covered with papers and notes.

I introduced myself again explaining my mission. He said, "fine" and motioned with his hand indicating I should put the envelope on the table which I did. I paused a minute, asked if he needed anything or if there was something I could do for him. He said, "No, thank you very much, Miss." So I very reluctantly left his presence.