Slavic New Yorker: Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), an ethnic Serb from Croatia, is best known for inventing numerous electricity-related devices. By the time of his death, he held 700 patents in the US and Europe, for such things as the Tesla Coil, fluorescent light, radio transmission and remote control.

Tesla lived in New York for almost 60 years, and died at the Hotel New Yorker at 40th Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan. The hotel now bears a Tesla Memorial Society, which strives to keep the great inventor's memory alive.

Also check out Tesla's Connection to Columbia University.

(Top photo, Tesla Monument at Niagra Falls; bottom, memorial plaque at Hotel New Yorker. Photos from http://teslasociety.com)