Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla (1856--1943) was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer and futurist whose pioneering work on alternating-current power systems, the polyphase induction motor and wireless transmission of energy laid much of the foundation for modern electrical engineering. The flamboyant, eccentric persona he cultivated -- and the spectacular lightning displays he created in his Colorado Springs laboratory -- have made him a recurring figure in popular culture, often portrayed as the archetypal mad-scientist genius (Wikipedia)