Zap! Nikola Tesla Takes ChargeBy: Monica Kulling Illustrator: Bill Slavin Series: Great Idea Series Growing up in Smiljan, Croatia, Nikola Tesla dreamed about harnessing the power of Niagara Falls. In 1884, he walked down the gangplank into the New York Harbor with four cents in his pocket, a book of poems, a drawing of a flying machine, and a letter of introduction to Thomas Edison, the "electrical wizard" of America. Upon meeting, Edison sent Tesla to fix the SS Oregon as a test