Dinner with Nikola Tesla: The Forgotten Hero by Jared

Dinner with Nikola Tesla: The Forgotten Hero by Jared - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

I have heard this question many times, “If you could have dinner with any one historical figure, who would it be?”, and it seemed everybody had the same answer. Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Henry Ford and so forth. I on the other hand, always looked deeper into the question like I will do now. If there is one historical figure I could eat dinner with, it would be Nikola Tesla.

Nikola Tesla made the light bulb efficient and made it safer than the previous light bulb. If you ask me, that’s an incredible feat to accomplish. Without this innovation, life today would be dark, and we as a human race, would rely on the sun to make our schedules. The light-bulb was made safer by changing the type of current that runs through it, so not only light-bulbs were enhanced, but anything that runs on electricity has Tesla to thank. Without Tesla’s innovations, the world we are powered on wouldn’t be as safe or efficient as it is today. Getting to eat with someone as innovative as that would be beyond exhilarating.

One thing that always stands out to me, is the lack of knowledge people have of Tesla. While overshadowed by his mentor Albert Einstein, Tesla eventually left Einstein because the two had different views on how electricity should be used. I can’t imagine how it would feel to have a mentor condemn you, but that’s why Tesla is so important in history. Instead of giving up, he went out and did his own thing. I, like many people, would have a variety of questions to ask Tesla. That wouldn’t be my main factor when it comes to eating dinner with him though. The one thing I would love to do more than anything else is just let Tesla know how much I appreciate him and his sacrifices he made to make the world what it is today. Tesla received good praise back in his time, but today is overshadowed by Einstein and business tycoons of the time such as Henry Ford and John Rockefeller. I just feel he deserves more praise than he receives and that if I had an opportunity to give him that praise I should.

Tesla not only brightened the world, he also connected the world and made it more efficient. History always seems to credit Albert Einstein and others as innovators in American history, but one major figure that always gets over looked, is Nikola Tesla, the Forgotten Hero.