Nikola Tesla

In 1884, Nikola Tesla, a 28-year-old Serbian immigrant, came to the United States with a dream of engineering the production of alternating current electricity. He became a consultant to George Westinghouse, who won the contract to harness the power of Niagara Falls to produce AC hydro-electricity. The Westinghouse-Tesla team engineered a water tunnel 2 miles long and 160 feet deep from the Rapids to the Niagara River just past the American Falls, removing some 300,000 tons of earth and using 20 million bricks to line the tunnel. When completed, the Adams Power Houses accommodated ten 5000-horsepower Tesla hyro-generators capable of delivering AC electricity. On November 15, 1896, for the first time ever, long-distance transmission of alternating current was achieved from Niagara Falls to Buffalo, New York, some 23 miles away. Ultimately, AC transmission was adopted across modern civilization, and in 1896 the Buffalo Enquirer called Tesla's achievement the "Journey of God's own Lightning to the employ of all mankind."

Niagara Falls, New York · United States