Nikola Tesla's Family

When asked who he could thank for the success he achieved in life, Tesla used to say that those people were certainly his parents. When asked to explain it in more detail, he would usually say the following.

First of all, in his opinion, he inherited the spirit of research from his mother, who was otherwise illiterate and came from a family where many were engaged in inventive work. Since she came from such an environment, she was busy discovering new things herself, so even her son followed in her footsteps at an early age.

As for his father, he also meant a lot to him in the beginning, because it was from him (and from his books) that he gained the first knowledge about electricity, which fascinated him so much that he devoted his whole life to research in that field of nature. In addition, with the help of exercises, his father developed in him the ability to self-mastery, quick reasoning and memory, which would help him a lot in his later life and work. He also inherited from his father a feeling of love for his people and homeland.

Later, when he grew up and followed his own, by no means easy path through life, full of bitterness, ups and downs, victories and defeats, he still remained firmly connected to his family. Unfortunately, due to the huge distance, that strong, deep, human connection was preserved by letters that traveled a long time and arrived irregularly. Nevertheless, those letters, those messages from the closest and the most loved ones, gave Nikola the strength and will to overcome all troubles, to withstand all blows and to continue on the difficult path towards the goal he had set for himself, in the name of humanity.

This detail speaks for itself about how strong that relationship was. When Tesla’s mother was nearing the time of her death, she asked her relatives to see her son for the last time. The family members fulfilled the wish of the dying old woman and invited Nikola even though they themselves doubted that the famous scientist would undertake such a long and expensive way.

However, something unexpected happened.

At that time, Tesla was working on several projects and due to his excessive busyness, he persistently refused invitations to give lectures about his work in the most prestigious scientific circles in the USA or Europe. It was of no help that the organizers were offering large rewards and saying that these lectures would popularize his work. Tesla flatly refused all this - saying that he could not stop the projects he was working on. But, when he received a letter with bad news from far away Gospić, he instantly changed his decision and, driven by his immense love for his mother, left everything behind and immediately set off for his native home.

He traveled long and hard, but all that was not as difficult for him as the question of whether he would arrive on time and manage to fulfill the last wish of his mother, whom he loved so much.

He arrived at the last moment, at a time when his mother was already in agony. Nevertheless, the woman regained consciousness in an instant and recognized the face of her son whom she wanted to see so much. Just a moment later, she died in Nikola’s arms.