Talk:Nikola Tesla/Archive 8

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Tesla Motors

Heres a short Statement from the Teslamotors Company Site .. who designed and built an Electric Car, named "Tesla Roadster".

From: http://www.teslamotors.com/learn_more/why_tesla.php


The namesake of our Tesla Roadster is the genius Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-born American inventor, electrical engineer, and scientist. Among his life‘s many inventions (and over 700 patents) are the induction motor and alternating-current power transmission. Without Tesla‘s vision and brilliance, our car wouldn‘t be possible. We‘re confident that if he were alive today, Nikola Tesla would look over our car and nod his head with both understanding and approval. A Bright Moment to Honor the Man Who Lit the World

UNESCO has declared 2006 the Year of Nikola Tesla, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of his birth. We are delighted that the world unveiling of the Tesla Roadster falls on July 19, 2006 — just days after his birthday.

“Were we to seize and eliminate from our industrial world the result of Mr. Tesla‘s work, the wheels of industry would cease to turn, our electric cars and trains would stop, our towns would be dark, and our mills would be idle and dead. His name marks an epoch in the advance of electrical science.”

Tesla's height

I can't claim to know much at all about Nikola Tesla, but I was scrolling through the article List of famous tall men and he is listed as having been 6'7". Is this true? 70.50.53.38 22:24, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Serbs are often tall, and I remember reading he was of extraordinary height for his era; never saw the figure before, though.Skookum1 23:55, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

That's the first I've ever heard of Serbs being tall. Does anyone know if there's proof for this claim of 6'7"? If not, he really shouldn't be on that list. 70.50.53.38 01:14, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I read he was 6'6, he does look tall... and Serbs/Croats are the tallest people in the world!

Well Dalmatians are tall, but they ain't Serbs and Montenegrians are tall but they defintly aren't serbs. And yes, it's strange for a serb to be that tall.

First of all Tesla is not a Serb but was born in Croatian village of Smiljani near Croatian city of Gospic. Second of all serbs are not very tall nation. If any of the former Yugoslavian republics nationalities was tall than it was Monte Negrians.

These are all silly remarks. Some nations may be shorter than others but we are talking about an individual here. The tallest player in the NBA is Chinese, and Svetozar Marovic, a Montenegrin who presided over Seria & Montenegro is something of a shortie (by Montenegrin standards). Now as for Dalmatians and Montenegrins not being Serbs, well, this is a two-fold argument. On principle, a Montenegrin may not be, however, a person from Montenegro may be Serb, and they are the largest ethnic minority in that country. Dalmatians mostly identify as such at a regional rather than national level, as such, the majority of Dalmatians are Croats, but there are Dalmatians who are Serb too, and another thing: the variation in height affects areas and not Slavic denominations: the fact that Montenegro has such a high average is attributed to all living within its borders, and ethnic Serbs are just as tall as ethnic Montenegrins. In Croatia, the same, in places where Serbs can trace their origins back for three centuries, their typical presence is closer to non-Serb locals than to Serbs living hundreds of kilometres away. Equally, Croats themselves vary in height from one place to another: Dalmatian Croats are said to be tall but in Zagorje, there are far fewer tall characters, by that I mean Serbs and Croats alike. Tesla has been claimed by both Serb and Croat nationalists; and moderates from both sides have also at various times conceded that he belongs to the other nation. His height cannot stand testimony but during his time in this world, both the Serbian and the Croatian modern national visions were born, so he could well have been either. We need to find evidence of how he defined himself before he assert what he was and what he wasn't. Evlekis 12:55, 16 January 2007 (UTC) Евлекис

Standing tall in fairness

I read somewhere that Montenegro has the tallest people in the world. Serbs and Croats are also fairly tall and that would make you wander "all 3 ethnic groups might share the same genetics and origins" I don't think Bosnians, Macedonians and Slovenes are as tall and might be more mixed with other ethnic groups. Interesting as people here are debating origin of Tesla. I would think there is enough evidence to support that he was a Vlah by origin(What's a Vlah today?. Not sure on the time line when these Vlah ancestors came to Croatia but they came to Croatia. His father was clearly as Serb. Confusing but clear. Tesla ancestors and last name were Vlah origin , but he was Serb as was his father, Tesla was born in what is Croatia today. FAIR ENOUGH

Jagoda 1 23:29, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

For the same reasons as I pointed above, the similarily in genes will affect people living closest together, gradually becoming different as you move farther away. I believe that the region from where Tesla originated is renouned for its giants, indeed they will have close genetic links even if they self-identify as a seperate ethnic group. The term Vlah varies according to region; the only people to call themselves Vlah in the census are certain Romanian ethnic individual groups from certain areas; Croatia does have a traditional Romanian population in the shape of the Istro-Romanians and there is every reason why ones surname may be Romanian/Vlah or anything else in origin. Again I say, Tesla's father may have been Serb by declaration but one needs to be absolutely sure that Tesla himself identified as such. Evlekis 12:55, 16 January 2007 (UTC) Евлекис

Tesla's Poetry ?

In Margaret Cheney's book, she mentions that he was a good, and perhaps great, poet. I've never come across any of his work, and my Serbian friends - raised under Tito's regime - drew a blank on this, although they'd heard of his writings outside of engineering. Does this get mentioned in any of the other bios of him, and if so, is there any further detail? I understand he was also something of a musical aficionado, and I think a minor composer as well.....Skookum1 23:55, 23 July 2006 (UTC) Qualifying that, I remember that what she said was, other than his own poetry, he had written books or articles on Serbian poetry to good reviews...pr which were respected as knowledgeable or something to that effect. I haven't read the book in a long time....Skookum1 04:35, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

Studies at Graz

The article under education says he received several degrees from Graz. Seifer, "Wizard.."p17 says he did not take his final exams senior degree and did not receive a degree from the school." So where is a verifiable source to prove he graduated from the Polytechnic at Graz with all the various degrees? Certainly he studied there, but more than one source says he did not receive a degree.Edison 03:52, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

Seifer(op cit) says p17 " Exam time came, and Tesla was unprepared. He asked for an extension to study but was denied. He never graduated from the Austrian Polytechnic School and did not receive any grades for his last semester there." p18 says Tesla's father could not get him to return to Graz and complete his studies, so he started afresh at Charles-Ferdinand branch of the University of Pragus, for the summer term. This does not sound like "graduate studies" as stated in the article. He left after that term (p20) so it does not appear he obtained an undergraduate or graduate degree there either. Authorities Seifer cites for details of Tesla's college years include his roommate, Kosta Kulishich, "Tesla nearly missed his career as inventor; college roommate tells," Newark News, August 27, 1931 and also cites William Terbo, Tesla's great nephew, honorary chairman and cofounder of the Tesla Memorial Society, and life member of the International Tesla Society.Terbo in 1983 said it was likely Tesla was dismissed for gambling and womanizing. In the Wiki article is a citation to Wysock et al which states he got the degree at Graz; the Wysock article does not provide a citation as to how they knew this fact. Perhaps someone could in Newark could verify the Newark News article. Did Tesla in any writing of his own ever claim to have graduated? Does anyone have access to the Tesla Museum to see if they have a diploma among the many volumes of documents Tesla kept? Does Graz Polytech still exist and do they say Tesla graduated? Even without the formal degree, he was better educated in physics than many 19th century electrical authorities. Pending verifiable sources for graduation, the article shoud state that he attended college but did not graduate (like Bill Gates!).Edison 15:50, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

The articles does NOT state that he recieved a PhD, Edison ... only that he studied in graduate school. It states "Graduate studies" ... not "Graduate degree". The article does state that he attended college but did not graduate (atleast not in the time frame of his early years). This is your misinterpertation of the words. Did you misunderstand "studies" for "degree"? There is only Bachelor diplomas, no PhD.

He did though recieve Docteur Honorius Causa (Honorary doctorate) at

The Wysock article (with the Corums) is one of the best on his background. The Corums are have a vast knowledge on Tesla's background. I would imagine the Corums have met William Terbo in person (all have delivered papers at Tesla symposiums)

The article should stand as it is, the misunderstanding is yours not the articles.

134.193.168.250 17:17, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

Sorry you misread what I actually wrote. I did NOT say that the article stated that he received a PhD from Prague. The article incorrectly (or without documentation) says he was a graduate student at Prague, which would imply he had received a baccalaureate at Graz, which he did not. Repeat: Tesla left Graz then "Kaiserlich-königlich Technischen Hochschule" in Graz, without receiving any diploma. He "started afresh" per Seifer, his undergraduate studies at Prague, unless he attended the one summer semesster as a special graduate student without an undergraduate degree. The Corum article is simply wrong, and contains no source for its claim he received a bachelor's degree from Graz. The Wikipedia article is five times wrong when it claims he received 5 baccalaureate degrees from Graz. Later, he received lots of honorary doctorates, including one from Graz (then called "Technische (und Montanistische) Hochschule Graz - Leoben") in 1937. He was very well self-educated outside his college studies, and his college studies such as they were were more extensive than those of many famous 19th century electrical researchers. So when he "made a fresh start" at Prague, he was still an undergraduate. In fact, he did not go beyond the first semester of his junior year at the Polytechnic School of Graz, per a book they published in honor of the 150th anniversary of his birth, "Nikola Tesla und die Technik in Graz" by Jozef W. Wohinz (hg.),Verlag der Technischen Universität Graz, 2006; ISBN-10: 3-902465-39-5; ISBN-13: 978-3-902465-39-9. He started at Graz in the fall semester of 1875. In his third year, the last registration information for Tesla says: "Wegen Nichtbezahlung des Unterrichtgeldes für das I. Semester 1877/78 gestrichen". In English, he was dismissed for nonpayment of his tuition for the first semester of his junior year. This is even earlier than what Seifer said, but the Graz University of Technology is certainly the most credible source for info on who graduated.Edison 17:18, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Article states that Tesla studied alternating current at Graz. I thought this was the basis of his feud with Edison, that AC did not exist in 1875. Someone who knows for sure please clarify. Thanks.

Please sign your postings with 4 tildes. In the 1875-1876 schoolyear at Graz, Tesla took 11 courses, for a total of 46 hours of credit. He received a grade of “vorzüglich” for each course, corresponding to A+ in U.S. grading. He took "Experimentalphysik" for 5 hours with Prof. Jakob Pöschl, the chair of the physics department, and thereby learned an excellent coverage of electrical physics. He apparently took another physics course with Pöschl in his second year.Pöschl purchased a small Gramme machine which was the first reasonably good motor and generator, and which impressed Thomas Edison as well, inspiring his motor-generator development. A generator is basically a loop of wire rotating in a magnetic field, or a stationary loop of wire with a rotating magnet, and naturally tends to produce alternating current. The Gramme machine was a state of the art motor or generator, with a series of coils embedded in a soft iron ring, which rotated in a magnetic field. By having a series of loops, a nearly continuous current was produced. I see this as the inspiration for Tesla's motors and generators with the rotating magnetic field. A commutator connected to each coil in turn to keep the current always flowing in the same direction. Tesla saw that the commutator produced sparking and a loss of efficiency, and suggested doing away with the brushes. So the DC machine of Gramme in the physics class was the inspiratiuuon for his AC concepts, but it was not used as an AC machine. AC generation, transmission, and use was not taught in the class, except in the sense that AC is the natural result of a simple coil rotating in a field, or a magnet going in and out of a coil. Edison 15:54, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Nikola Tesla

Please stop reverting to your version of this article. The Nobel claims have been discussed at great length, and it is extremely unlikely that what you are writing is correct. Your changes to the school portions would require a citation. The current text already has a citation there, and changing it creates problems with that citation. In addition, please stop using devious methods to revert. --Philosophus T 18:01, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I have the book in the citations. The text in the books does not match the citations of the article. Moving this to Talk: NT. 134.193.168.250

Ok, that makes sense for the school part. But the Nobel part doesn't seem right. Nominations are not made public, and most of the information there is just pure speculation. --Philosophus T 18:37, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

Tesla was Serbian-American, what seems to be the problem with it?

Tesla has lived in the USA since he was 28 until the end of his life, had the USA citizenship, and was by no doubt American. Being an ethnic Serb, he belonged to the numerous Serbian-American community, which exists today as well. Some people (Croatians?) seem not to understand the term Serbian-American and keep deleting it: it means primarily American, while the Serbian part is the ethnic reference, like Italian-American, African-American, Native-American etc. Although Tesla was a proud American, he also cherished his Serbdom, Serbian language and Serbian/Yugoslavian connections, and contributed much to the Serbian-American community in the USA. Marechiel 12:05, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

You americans... hmm think you own everything... There is no american scientist so you would like to have them all... yes i know.. "we are the best, so f... the rest" -> this is your culture.

IIRC, Tesla was also at pains to the ethnic rivalry and civil strife that existed in his homeland. Mabey something to put into the personal views if a few refs can be found. 134.193.168.253 17:17, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
This is a another topic that has little to do with his ethnicity and nationality, which was Serbian-American. Tesla was one of the founders of Serbian-American community and a person whose name is cherished the most by the already mentioned Serbian-American community. Considering his political views, Tesla was a supporter of King Alexander's ideas, and a supporter of young King Peter II and his Chetniks during WWII (Tesla&KingPeter.jpg), as the whole USA were at the time, but this is a another topic. See this: Tesla: Tribute to King Alexander (MS Word Document). Marechiel 19:23, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
Yep ... this is a another topic, but it does deal with his ethnicity and nationality (which was Serbian-American). It (his views on his homeland) would be a good thing to cover in the personal views section. 134.193.168.253 19:51, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

3rr violation - Tesla and Croatian language

Someone keeps deleting the statement that Tesla spoke Croatian, amomg his 8 languages. They would have us believe that he grew up in Croatia, but never learned to speak the language, although he learned to speak several languages of places he never lived. This is vandalism. Tesla wrote in a letter to the New York Times, October 21, 1934, p E5, "Tribute to King Alexander" the following: "The fact is that all Yugoslavians- Serbians,Slavonians, Bosnians, Herzegovinians, Dalmatians, Montenegrins, Croatians and Slovenes- are of the same race, speak the same language and have common ideals and traditions."..."I was born in Croatia. The Croatians and Slovenes were never in a position to fight for their independence. It was the Serbians who fought the battles for freedom and the price of liberty was paid in Serbian blood. All true Croatians and Slovenes remember that gratefully." Is the claim then that he did not speak Croatian because it is the identical language with Serbian? There is a Wikipedia article on Croatian language which says that the Croatian and Serbian languages were forced to be one (mostly Serbian) by the Kingdom of Serbia starting 1918, then the Nazi puppet state of Croatia emphasized linguistic separatism starting 1941. Thus it appears that Tesla would have had no difficulty making himself understood in Croatian, and that Croatian was during much his lifetime considered a separate language. A Maître'D at the St. Regis Hotel in New York stated that he conversed with Tesla in Croatian "The very model of a Maître 'dHotel" NY Times, Feb 19, 1967, p.78. I have provided verifiable sources that Tesla said he was born in Croatia, that Croatia was a language during his lifetime, and that he spoke it. Now the question is how do I not violate the 3RR while adding Croatian back to the article as one of his languages?? The violator of 3RR would seem to be the deletor unless they furnish a verifiable source that a) there was no such language, or b) he was unable to speak it. If it would make the other editor happy, I would settle for the article stating he spoke Serbo-Croatian among 7 languages. I will make such a change. Edison 18:25, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

No, this is most likely not vandalism. Vandalism consists of an change that is "a deliberate attempt to reduce the quality of the encyclopedia". While the edits may be decreasing the quality of the encyclopedia, they do not appear to me to be a deliberate attempt to do so. --Philosophus T 10:52, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

This is a political issue, and can and should be, in my opinion, be solved making a compromise. I beg for this whole article of mine to be read, in order to make the right conclusion.

Serbian and Croatian are basically not only the same language, but the same very dialect of that language: stokavian. The only difference is that "Croatian" de facto also includes the two other dialects not spoken in Serbia, and "Serbian" a subdialect spoken in Eastern Serbia, and not Croatia. But what we call today standard Serbian and standard Croatian are one same language, 100% mutually intelligible. Now to the Tesla issue:

Tesla by his own admission spoke Serbian. But, to be fair, the same variant/accent spoken by Croats, Croatian Serbs and ex-Croatian Serbs (regugees) is called Serbian by Serbs, and Croatian by Croats. Tesla explicitly said that this were one language (See Edison's quote above), and Tesla never called it Croatian - as all Serbs from his region never do - but Serbian. Tesla did not speak two Balkanic/SE-European languages, or three, or four, but one, his mother tongue he called "Serbian", and what was at the called "Serbian", "Croatian", "Serbian or Croatian" and "Serbo-Croatian".

If we were to be 100% truthful, we should also add Bosnian and Bosniak (language of Bosniaks in Sanjak, Serbia), and the other two languages: Montenegrin and Bunjevacki, because Tesla spoke them all: the same variant of Serbian, only called differently, after Croats, Bosniaks, Montenegrins and Bunjevci who speak it. Where would this lead, and what would this do?

I suggest not placing Croatian among Tesla's languages - because he didn't call it that, and because he de facto knew eight languages, and not nine, or ten, or eleven, depending on what we now divide into something he called "Serbian". I suggest as a rightful compromise that Croatian, Bosnian, Montenegrin and Bunjevacki should be added as a reference, or in brackets, next to Serbian. It should also be unjust to late Tesla not to call his language the way he and his countrymen did. Marechiel 13:50, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Marechiel: The above is informative to thos of us who know not a word of the language. If I understand you correctly, it is the custom of Serbians born in Croatia to say they speak Serbian while Croatians born next door and speaking the same language say they speak Croatian. It seems as artificial to argue over whether he spoke Serbian or Croatian then as to claim that George Bush speaks 'Texan' or 'Connecticuttese' when both are mutually intelligible variants of American English. Is it offensive to both sides to say he spoke "Serbo-Croatian" or if that is offensive, "the Serbian and Croatian language" and count it as one language in the total? To a neutral observer seems like the obvious answer. And in the comment for your last edit you said "(Tesla was not born in Croatia, Croatian state didn't exist until Tesla was 85)" but in the letter above written when he was 78, he said he was born in Croatia. Wikipedia would usually take a person's own statement as the best source. Earlier he wrote he was born in Smiljan, Lika, in the Austro-Hungarian border territory. Is that not also correct? No one is saying he travelled through time to the modern Croatian state to be born (though some of his fans might think that not impossible!).Edison 14:48, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
The article on differences in standard Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian uses the term Serbo-Croatian to jointly refer to the language - as I know nothing other than what I read since reading the above (and knowing there was a contoversy on the mailing list regarding this) - is that term, Serbo-Croatian, potentially offensive? --Trödel 15:36, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
Edison: You got the idea about language totally right. I think that it is not a problem to name the language in any appropriate way, but it is just false to say that he spoke more than eight languages (Serbian + other seven), since one language named in many ways doen't make several languages. Also, to be fair, when stating Croatian, one should also add Bosnian and Montenegrin, since those "languages" are more close to Lika speech than the official Zagreb variant, today called standard Croatian.
Considering the place of Tesla's birth, it is obvious that when he mentions Croatia (or Serbia, or Montenegro etc.) he speaks of it as of region in an ethnic Yugoslav area. The idea of King Alexander was that Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (at the time, Montenegrins, Bosniaks, Bunjevci and Macedonians weren't recognized as separate peoples) were just tribal names for the same Yugoslav nation, which Tesla whole heartily accepted. At the time, Serbs lived throughout Croatia, and app. one third of Croatian territory was ethnically Serbian, including Tesla's Lika. Whenever Tesla spoke of Croatia, he spoke of it as a Serbo-Croat region in their mutual state, and not as independent state of ethnic Croats, which it is today.
Beside everything, for the sake of historical accuracy, Tesla's birhtplace was in Austrian Empire at the time, and today it is part of Croatian state - I simply don't see why this should be a problem, save for political motives to present Tesla as Croatian "brand". As I previously said, Archimedes wasn't born in Italy, Heraclites wasn't born in Turkey and - similar example to Tesla - Tesla's contemporary and fellow-countryman and a colegue scientist, Michael Idvorsky Pupin, Serbian scientist from the USA, also born in Austria, but in the region called Voivodship Serbia isn't stated as born in Serbia, although he was a Serb, and not a member of of an ethnic minority Serbs had a war with, as Croats had in Croatia. Should we mention the Croatia-Slavonia region in Austria as a place of his birth, we should also say that Croatia-Slavonia was a part of Kingdom Hungary, and that Smiljan was at the time part of Military Frontier, a separate region, only later joined with Croatia-Slavonia. See Map of Hungary at the time of Tesla's birth. "HORVÁT-SZLAVONORSZÁG" stands for Croatia-Slavonia, part of Kingdom Hungary of Austrian Empire, while the darkened region is the Military Krajina, subjugated directly to Wienna, Austria. Marechiel 15:59, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
Trödel: I can't speak on behalf of everyone, but I personally don't find "Serbo-Croatian" or "Serbian or Croatian" offensive to any party, although Tesla called it "Serbian", because it is practically the same language. Should people object and find it offensive, I suggest a compromise of not stating the name of the language, but rephrasing the sentence as: 'Beside his mother tongue, Tesla also spoke' etc. Marechiel 15:59, 28 July 2006 (UTC)


Edison's edits?

I'm not sure of what POV edison is trying to push, but the following links may be of use to everyone.

See:

For some reason, Edison is trying to imping the validity of the W.C. Wysock, J.F. Corum, J.M. Hardesty and K.L. Corum paper. The paper states:

matriculated with degrees in mathematics, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering) and at the University of Prague (where he performed graduate studies in Physics).

There is no confusion except apparantly in Edison's mind.

204.56.7.1 15:50, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

You may want to looks at ""MY INVENTIONS", III. My Later Endeavors: The Discovery of the Rotating Magnetic Field. He talks about his schoolin in this book. 204.56.7.1 16:10, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Greetings to the anonymous editor who posted the above from a common terminal at a library: You, or those who share the terminal you use, share my interest in early radio and electronics. But-Your attacks and assertion I am "pushing a POV" are unwarranted and are inappropriate for Wikipedia. This is not a blog. I just want accurate information in the article.
Please see the above section in Talk:Nikola Tesla entitled "Studies at Graz" which documents that Tesla did not finish his undergraduate studies at Technical University of Graz.
The fact that an error has been perpetuated by authors or websites does not make it convincing, when the school itself will tell you the opposite, and have said so on page 16 of the book they published to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Teslas birth, "Wohinz, Josef W.(Ed.): Nikola Tesla und die Technik in Graz. Graz, Verlag der Technischen Universität Graz, 2006, p.16; ISBN -10: 3-902465-39-5; ISBN -13: 978-3-902465-39-9".
At the school's website you will find at http://www.presse.tugraz.at//pressemitteilungen/2006/16.05.2006_graz.htm the following:
"Nikola Tesla kam zu Beginn des Studienjahres 1875/76 nach Graz und schrieb sich als Student der damaligen „k.k. Technischen Hochschule“ ein, die ursprünglich räumlich im Stammhaus des Landesmuseum Joanneum, in der Raubergasse 10, untergebracht war und mit der Eröffnung des neu errichteten Hauptgebäudes 1888 in die Rechbauerstraße 12 übersiedelte. Zur Zeit Teslas wurden wesentliche Inhalte aus der heutigen Elektrotechnik von Physikern vorgetragen. Erst 1940 wurde an der Technischen Hochschule in Graz eine Abteilung für Elektrotechnik eingerichtet.Überdurchschnittliche Leistungen
Nikola Tesla wies im ersten Studienjahr eine weit überdurchschnittliche Leistung nach, hat er doch elf verschiedene Vorlesungen mit insgesamt 46 Stunden absolviert. Im zweiten schloss er nur mehr fünf Lehrveranstaltungen (mit insgesamt 19 Stunden) positiv ab und wurde im dritten Studienjahr schließlich wegen Nichtbezahlung des Unterrichtsgeldes aus dem Katalog gestrichen. Es zeigt sich im Verlauf seines Lebens immer wieder, dass Tesla wenig Geschick im Umgang mit Geld hatte – wirtschaftlich schwierige Phasen kennzeichnen seinen Lebensweg trotz einer Vielzahl erfolgreicher Erfindungen."
Doesn't this mean Tesla was a student at the "Kaiserlich-königlich Technischen
Hochschule in Graz (now Graz University of Technology) from 1875 til
1878. In the third year (1877/78), "Wegen Nichtbezahlung des Unterrichtgeldes für das I. Semester 1877/78 gestrichen", his tuition was not paid and his studies did not continue. They gave him an honorary doctorate in 1937. Do you read it differently, or do you find where the University says more than "he studied there from the beginning of the 1875-1876 term until 1878?"
Please also see the book you mentioned by Seifert, "Wizard." which also documents on page 17 that he did not finish his studies and did not receive a bacalaureate degree from Graz.
Does he say in "My Inventions" that he graduated? And as for "imping" the validity of Corum et al, I stated they said Tesla received all those undergraduate degrees from Graz, but that they do not provide a source for their information. Who's Who says he "completed" the engineering course at Graz, in disagreement with the schools records, but does not say he received a B.S. Their source is not given. Tesla or some anonymous writer at Who's Who?
How about you doing doing the reverting to the previous version, which says he did not graduate, or you providing a better source such as a diploma on deposit in some museum, or a statement in Tesla's own writings that he received an undergraduate degree from Graz, in addition to the honorary doctorate they gave him decades later? Or do you want a section that says he received all those bachelors degrees and then a section that says the University denies it, and his roommate denied he graduated? Edison 21:52, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

The school's website is a page of Josef W. Wohinz's opionion. It is dubious. "Who's Who" is much more reputable source (though, it seem, you don't agree with it). The sources for Corum et al is at the end of their paper. There is a whole citation section. Which is better than one opinion at a website (reguardless that it's jhosted on the school domain; any of the staff or stu8dent can get a page there).

As to Seifert ("Wizard"), though it is one of the better modern biographies, it does sdtill have Seifert's opinions sprinkled throughout (such as his opinion on the photograph of Tesla and Einstein and Steinmetz; Seifert believe that it was not Tesla, but there are other biographers that do). He did recieve degree from these schools. You should not misrepresent what teh reputable reference says and choose only those references that you like. 134.193.168.252 17:05, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

By the way, Anonymous Editor "204.56.7.1" which is the IP of a terminal at Linda Hall Library, "in the heart of the University of Missouri-Kansas City's campus but separate from the University", the previous discussion you were unfamiliar with was with another Anonymous Editor "134.193.168.250" at the selfsame University of Missouri - Kansas City. You "two" should get together. I bet you could have some great discussions about Tesla.Edison 22:51, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Edison seem to be a impartial name to edit the Nikola Tesla article. Real impartial. 134.193.168.252 17:05, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
The user name Edison reflects a lifelong interest and study of 19th century electrical technology, as well as a degree in and career in electrical engineering. For that matter, anonymous edits are not very compelling in their authenticity.Edison 14:11, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Went to the library and checked "My Inventions" by Tesla. He does not claim to have graduated from or recieved a Bachelor's degree from Graz. His second year of studies would have been 1876-1877. On p 58 he says "It was in the second year of my studies that we received a Gramme dynamo..." and there follows his account of devising the brushless ac motor concept in Prod Poeschl's physics class. Then he talks about his further thoughts about the ac motor. Then (p 59) he says, and note that "term" is singular, "All my remaining term in Gratz was passed in intense but fruitless efforts of this kind, and I almost came to the conclusion that the problem was insoluble. In 1880 I went to Prague, Bohemia, carrying out my father's wish to complete my education at the University there." Note that he never said he graduated from Graz. Nor did he state that he received any degree from Prague. Please do not misrepresent what a reference says. Tesla accomplished a great deal in his life, and does not need people padding his resumé.Edison 01:57, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

Note that "term" is about the time of development of the motor, not about the length of his overall study. From 1876 to 1880 is the time of his stay. Note that he never said he did not graduated from Graz. He was to undertake his graduate studies at the Prague University. You should not misrepresent what a reference says and choose only those references that you like. Tesla accomplished a great deal in his life, and does not need people removing items from his resumé! 134.193.168.252

To Anonymous Editor "204.56.7.1" I see that you have partially reverted the education section by putting back the discredited claim that Tesla received numerous undergraduate degrees from Graz. I also see that you have been blocked numerous times for repeated 3RR reverts. The university records show that he stopped going to class junior year and did not graduate from Graz. Here is one more nail in the coffin: In the article, one of the sources under "External Articles: History and family" is Mrkich, D., "Tesla - The European Years", Serb National Federation at Tesla - The European Years", Serb National Federation. Mrkich in his book, available online, says he went to Graz in October, 2001. He asked the university officials about Tesla's time there, and says he was was shown Tesla's official school records, which show (pp 2 and 11) that he took no exams in his third year. Mrkich says "In his third year, the fall of 1877, Tesla stopped attending lecture, and in January 1878 is not a registered student anymore." Mrkick says, p 2, "Nikola Tesla, the world's greatest mind in the age of machinery, never graduated from any school of higher learning." Against this you present secondary (tertiary?) sources such as websites which cite no source for their info, and you cited in support of the claim for numerous undergraduate degrees some sources which actually say he DID NOT graduate, ambiguous cites that he "completed his studies" which he certainly did on the last day he attended with or without a degree, and a "postersession" by Corum et al, which it is hard to see how it constitutes a refereed scholarly verifiable source, and which in turn cites no authoritative source to show he graduated. The repeated posting of the numerous claimed baccalaureate degrees is not appropriate without some evidence to tip the scales against the evidence from the school, from his roommate, and from his great-nephew as cited above.Thanks for leaving in the article something of the arguments I presented to show his nongraduation. But the list of degrees should be removed, since it is undocumented, and the evidence he did NOT graduate is very well documented.Edison 16:59, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

The source you cite other than the unreferenced claim by Corum et al is " The Book of New York ,"Publisher: The Book of New York Company Author(s): Julius Chambers Publication Date: 1912. In the snippet whic appears when I click on this source in the article, it just says he studied at Graz for four years, but does not say he "matriculated" with four degrees as claimed in the not, unless that is on some other place in the book. Page number?? Also, when I click on the matriculate link it says the term refers to ENTERING a cource of study, not graduating. So it is misleading to use this as support for the claim he received 4 bachelors degrees from Graz.Edison 17:23, 31 July 2006 (UTC)