Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla (1856 - 1943) completely altered the course of history through his inventions.
The AC system he championed and improved remains the global standard for power transmission. He demonstrated wireless radio communication two years before Guglielmo Marconi and is believed to be the first person to produce an x-ray image.
The image was the result of a botched attempt to photograph Mark Twain.
via Century Magazine / Wikimedia Commons
While Tesla’s scientific discoveries are among the greatest of his generation, the myths surrounding him have turned him into a cult-like figure. Conspiracy theorists believe Tesla created a death ray, a wireless power system that could transmit electricity across the world, and that the government stole all of his research documents after his death.