A photograph from the late 19th century is popular online, showing a man resembling the famous scientist sitting on the beach wearing a T-shirt with the inscription “Swimming Instructor.” We checked whether this is indeed one of the episodes from the biography of Nikola Tesla.
The most common caption under this photo on the Internet is “Nikola Tesla is a swimming instructor. New York. 1900." The fact that the mustachioed young man in the photo is one of the most influential inventors in history is reported by such entertainment sites as JoyReactor, "Personalities", Pinterest, "Norm Post", "Peekaboo", as well as communities on Facebook ("Intellectual", Historicana.ru), Twitter ("Historical photos") and "VKontakte" (Royal Moments).
Serbian-American engineer, physicist and versatile inventor Nikola Tesla is not called “the man who invented the 20th century” for nothing. Despite his long life (Tesla lived for 86 years), the scientist’s main achievements and discoveries occurred in the previous century, the 19th century, as well as his youth and maturity in general. In 1884, a Serb arrived to New York from across the ocean with 4 cents in his pocket, several of his own poems and calculations for an aircraft. In 1900, Tesla was 44 and a successful American. This is what he looked like in the area 1890 And 1896 years respectively:
As we can see, the years have not passed without a trace for the scientist: bald patches along the edges of the forehead, wrinkles around the nose. While the swimming instructor from the famous photo looks very young and does not suffer from alopecia:
Moreover, we know where and when this photograph was taken. She can be seen on page New York City Department of Parks and Recreation with the caption: “Swimming instructor and bather. Midland Beach, Staten Island, 1898." No other important details were provided. Most likely, if it were a celebrity of Tesla's stature, people involved in his legacy in the United States would recognize the scientist and the signature would look different.
However, not a single biography of Nikola Tesla says that he ever worked part-time in this way. In his autobiography, the scientist reportsthat he knew how to swim as a child, but twice almost drowned in the river due to negligence. Not a very encouraging start to a career as a swimming instructor. Moreover, Tesla’s financial capabilities by 1898, thanks to many discoveries and patents, allowed us not to be distracted by such things.
Most likely not true
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Was Nikola Tesla a Swimming Instructor?
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