International tribute to Nikola Tesla (1856–1943)
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great inventor, physicist and engineer, UNESCO declared 2006 as "Nikola Tesla Year". Born in Croatia, he died in the United States of America where he spent the second half of his life. He was a pioneer of the alternating current system. It is to him that we owe, among other things, the alternating current induction motor that is still used in most electrical and household appliances. The father of hydroelectric power, he constructed the first hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls in 1895. The same year, the Croatian City of Šibenik became the first European city with street lights powered by hydroelectric power. (Photo: statue of Nikola Tesla in the centre of Zagreb, work by the great Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović.)
