Nikola Tesla: Was He Or Wasn't He?

Mad About The Mad Scientist

NIKOLA TESLA
July 10, 1856 - January 7, 1943

When I hear the name Nikola Tesla, I think of glowing coils, wireless electricity, and futuristic inventions decades ahead of their time.

I also think: Damn, he was a handsome devil!

Born in 1856 in what is now Croatia, Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, and physicist who changed the world with innovations such as the alternating current (AC) electrical system, radio wave transmission, and early concepts of robotics and radar.

But behind Tesla’s high-voltage legacy lies a far more mysterious current: his private life. He was famously reclusive, never married, and openly admitted to having no interest in romantic entanglements with women. This has led many historians and biographers to speculate about the inner world of this dapper, sharply-dressed man who was as enigmatic as he was brilliant.

WAS TESLA GAY?

There is no definitive historical record to confirm Tesla's sexual orientation. Some suggest he may have been asexual or celibate by choice, channeling all of his emotional and creative energy into his inventions.

However, in modern times, LGBTQ historians have re-examined (and re-imagined?) Tesla’s legacy, wondering whether his deep relationships with certain male friends or his lifelong bachelorhood might hint at something more.

We do know Tesla was close to several influential men in his life, including poet Robert Underwood Johnson and politician Richmond P. Hobson.

TESLA’S BEST FRIEND = RICHMOND P. HOBSON

While there’s no direct evidence of romantic or sexual relationships, the idea of Tesla as a queer figure has gained traction, not necessarily to revise history, but to open it up to interpretation—and to reclaim space for people who, like Tesla, may not have fit neatly into the romantic norms of their era.

THE DAPPER ENIGMA

Tesla was a striking figure: tall, impeccably groomed, and intensely charismatic. He dined at the finest hotels, walked the streets of New York City with a certain aristocratic flair, and had a reputation for being both charming and eccentric. Though he was something of a loner, he was never without admirers—male and female alike.

Tesla’s personal elegance, combined with his obsession for cleanliness and order, helped shape his public image as a modern Prometheus in a well-cut suit.

CELEBRATING A LIFE LIVED DIFFERENTLY

Whether Tesla was gay, celibate, or simply uninterested in romantic love, his story likely resonates with anyone who colors outside the lines.

In an age where conformity was often expected, Tesla stayed true to himself—unapologetically brilliant, frequently misunderstood, and completely unforgettable.

In celebrating Tesla today, we celebrate not only the genius who lit up the world but also the mystery of the man behind the mind.

Was he a queer pioneer? Perhaps.
Was he a dapper visionary who saw the future more clearly than most? Definitely.

Keep calm and carry on!
Clint 🌈✌️

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ON THIS DAY = JULY 10

BIRTHDAYS

• 1856 = Nikola Tesla = Serbian-American engineer and inventor 🌈

• 1871 = Marcel Proust = French novelist 🌈

• 1899 = John Gilbert = American actor, director, and screenwriter

• 1905 = Thomas Gomez = American actor

• 1920 = David Brinkley = American journalist

• 1921 = Harvey Ball = American illustrator and Smiley creator

• 1922 = Jake LaMotta = American boxer and actor

• 1926 = Fred Gwynne = American actor

• 1928 = Bernard Buffet = French painter and illustrator

• 1931 = Jerry Herman = American composer and lyricist 🌈

• 1931 = Nick Adams = American actor and screenwriter 🌈

• 1934 = Jerry Nelson = American puppeteer and voice actor

• 1939 = Mavis Staples = American singer

• 1941 = Robert Pine = American actor and director

• 1943 = Arthur Ashe = American tennis player and journalist

• 1945 = Ron Glass = American actor

• 1948 = Ronnie Cutrone = American painter

• 1954 = Neil Tennant = English singer-songwriter and Pet Shop Boys co-founder 🌈

• 1958 = Fiona Shaw = Irish actor and director 🌈

• 1963 = Zoe Dunning = American naval officer and activist 🌈

• 1965 = Alec Mapa = American actor, comedian, and writer 🌈

• 1969 = Alexandra Hedison = American photographer and actor 🌈

• 1969 = Gale Harold = American actor

• 1972 = Sofía Vergara = Colombian-American actor and producer

• 1976 = Elijah Blue Allman = American singer and guitarist

• 1984 = Vanessa Selbst = American poker player 🌈

• 1991 = Angel Haze = American rapper and singer 🌈

• 1998 = Angus Cloud = American actor

EVENTS

• 1962 = Telstar, the world's first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.

• 1970 = The Austrian Parliament decriminalizes homosexual acts between consenting adults.

• 1972 = Ann Arbor, Michigan becomes the first U.S. city to pass a broad gay civil rights law.

• 1973 = The Bahamas gains full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations.

• 1981 = Escape From New York is released in theaters.

• 1985 = Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is released in theaters.

• 2002 = The Massacre of the Innocents, a painting by Peter Paul Rubens, is sold at a Sotheby's auction for £49.5 million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Thomson.

• 2012 = The Episcopal Church USA allows same-sex marriage.

• 2019 = The final Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the line in Puebla, Mexico; the last of 5,961 "Special Edition" cars will be exhibited in a museum.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• National Kitten Day

• National Pina Colada Day

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PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Be alone, that is the secret of invention; be alone, that is when ideas are born.”
Nikola Tesla

“I do not think you can name many great inventions that have been made by married men.”
Nikola Tesla

“All that was great in the past was ridiculed, condemned, combated, suppressed — only to emerge all the more powerfully, all the more triumphantly from the struggle.”
Nikola Tesla

“I don't care that they stole my idea…I care that they don't have any of their own.”
Nikola Tesla

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