‘The Family Broke the Curse...’ A Great Secret About Nikola Tesla Revealed! Communists Altered His Letter for One Reason, Truth Has Finally Come to Light
Journalist and writer Jelica Roćenović tells Kurir that one of the most significant events in the youth of the great scientist was his bond with a cat.
The Centre for the Promotion of Art and Ahios Gallery, under the patronage of the Cultural and Educational Community of Serbia and the Journalists' Association of Serbia, organised an art exhibition last week, on the second day of Christmas, in honour of the Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla
More than 30 artists were gathered by Jelica Roćenović, a journalist and writer. The exhibition, which is open to the public at the Press Centre of the Journalists' Association of Serbia in Knez Mihailova Street, Belgrade, is titled Tesla’s Code. Jelica has spent years studying Tesla’s life, uncovering many lesser-known facts about the renowned scientist.
"I have spent my life reporting from the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and have been friends with many academicians. I am a true bookworm. I often see the media mentioning the letter Tesla wrote to a girl who had asked him to share his childhood memories and stories about his cat. When there was a thunderstorm, electricity would appear on the cat’s fur. In the letter, Tesla wrote: 'The cat’s back was glowing, and my hand produced a cascade of crackling sparks loud enough to be heard all around.' At the end, Tesla wondered who was stroking that cat now. Since 1943, that last sentence has been missing from every published version of the letter. Why? I had a private conversation with Branimir Jovanović, former director of the Nikola Tesla Museum, and he told me that the sentence was censored. They removed it because the only possible answer was God. The public never knew that Tesla believed God was stroking his cat’s back. That was suppressed for religious reasons. This is how things worked back then," Jelica tells Kurir.
Who was Tesla writing to?
One of the most significant events in Tesla’s youth was his connection with a cat named Mačak. In a letter to Paula Fotić, the daughter of Yugoslav ambassador Konstantin Fotić in the United States, Tesla described how, one snowy day, he had felt “compelled to stroke the cat’s back”. He wrote that what he saw left him speechless...
Tesla’s father explained that it must have been caused by electricity, like lightning, and that thought convinced young Tesla that he wanted to become an "electrician". In the same letter, Tesla described for the first time the closeness he had with Mačak during his childhood.
"When I was three years old, the source of all my joy was the magnificent Mačak—the most wonderful of all cats. I wish I could describe the bond that existed between us. We lived for each other. Wherever I went, the cat followed me, first because of our mutual love, and second out of a desire to protect me. If the need arose, he would stand on his hind legs, double in height, arch his back, and, with a tail stiff as a metal rod and whiskers tense as wires, he would express his rage with a sharp hiss—‘Ff, ffft.’ It was a frightening sight, and anyone—human or animal—who provoked him would immediately retreat. Every evening, when we ran around, he would chase after me and grab my trousers. He tried hard to convince me he would bite me, but as soon as his teeth pierced the fabric, the pressure disappeared, and his teeth on my skin felt as gentle as a butterfly landing on a petal. He loved rolling in the grass with me. As we did, he would nibble, pluck, and purr with delight. We simply could not stop. We would roll and roll in a frenzy of joy. We indulged in this enchanting game day after day, except when it rained.".
Tesla’s experience with Mačak led him to question how to harness the incredible electrical power of nature. But first, Tesla had to overcome family tradition, which required him to enrol in seminary. After all, his father was a priest, and it was his mother’s “dearest wish”, as he adored her. But Tesla disliked the idea. "This prospect hung over me like a dark cloud,” he later wrote. It simply did not appeal to him. His mind was too curious, too eager to explore new ideas. The priesthood was definitely not Tesla’s calling.
They named him Nikola to break the "curse"
At the opening of the Tesla’s Code exhibition, Jelica Roćenović revealed that the great scientist was actually the fifth child of his parents, Milutin and Đuka Tesla.
"For years, it was believed that Nikola was their fourth child. I think some scientists also came to the conclusion that he wasn’t after researching church records. He was born on 10 July 1856, named after his grandfather, and baptised on the same day so that the family would no longer lose children at birth," the author explained..
Accepted into the Academy
In 1894, Nikola Tesla was elected a corresponding member of the Serbian Royal Academy, and in 1937, he became a full member. Before that, in 1892, he received an honorary doctorate from Columbia University. One theory suggests that Tesla refused the Nobel Prize. However, recent discoveries have shed light on what actually happened. In reality, Tesla was only nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1937, but he received just one vote out of a possible 38. Some biographers believe it was for the best that he did not receive the award, as the recognition had often caused many scientists to become complacent. One such example was Albert Einstein, who, after winning the Nobel Prize, made no further major discoveries.
Nikola Tesla died in poverty on 7 January 1943. His funeral was held on 12 January at the Church of St John the Theologian in Manhattan, New York. After the service, he was cremated. More than 2,000 people attended the farewell, and all major newspapers covered the event. At the funeral, Tesla’s friend, violinist Zlatko Baloković, performed Schubert’s Ave Maria at Tesla’s request, followed by the song "Tamo Daleko" (There, Far Away).
