Nikola Tesla FBI Files - Page 195

STANDARD FORM NO. 84

Office Memorandum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

DATE: April 3, 1950

TO       : The Director

FROM  :  D. M. Ladd

SUBJECT: SAVA N. KOSANOVIC
        INTERNAL SECURITY - YU
        Bureau File 65-47953

        Reference is made to my memorandum dated March 29, 1950, relating to the telephone inquiry by the Yugoslav Ambassador Sava N. Kosanovic as to the possibility of obtaining a cory of a microfilm cory of the technical papers of the late Nikola Tesla, world-famous scientist who died in New York in 1943.

        Kosanovic claims to have been a nephew of Tesla and is known to have tried to obtain these papers at the time of Tesla's death. However, they were taken over at that time by the Alien Property Custodian. If any copies were made of these papers, they were made by the Office of the Alien Property Custodian which took possession of Tesla's papers in 1943 or the Department of the Army which was interested in copying Tesla's notes in 1945. The Army's interest apparently was developed by a young scientist named [REDUCTED] who had been a protege of Tesla and one of his few confidants. [REDUCTED], who knew that Tesla had been endeavoring to perfect the wireless transmission of electrical current, one of the basic concept involved in the production of a "Death Ray" had subsequently entered the Army, and in October, 1945, appeared at our New York Office, together with three other members of the United States Army, to request our assistance in obtaining access to Tesla's papers which were stored in a warehouse of the Manhattan Storage Company. [REDUCTED] and his associates were referred, at that time, to the Alien Property Custodian which was reported to have made an investigation of Tesla's belongings following the latter's death.

        Although the Office of Alien Property or the Department of the Army might be able to furnish a copy of Tesla's papers to Kosanovic, it is not believed that the FBI should facilitate his search for this material, which although possibly of no present value from a National Defense standpoint, could still conceivably be of assistance to the Yugoslav Government.

[REDUCTED]
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