Was Nikola Tesla Croat or Serbian?

Answer 1

He was an Serbian.

EDIT

A man of Serbian origin who spent his first 18 years in Croatia.

EDITED by VedaDavid

He was born in Croatia being a part of Austro-Hungarian Empire at that time. He has Croatian origin, but his father was an Orthodocs priest due to the circumstances I will elaborate bellow.

I'll try to stay as objective as possible, therefore I will give you the link to the original article in Croatian language about hidden Tesla's diary being kept in Belgrade and the translation of the most interesting parts, so you can check the facts for yourselves and come to your own conclusions.

Here is the link to the original article in Croatian language: http://www.hkv.hr/hkvpedija/znanost/5907-zato-beograd-skriva-tajni-dnevnik-nikole-tesle.html

Translation of the most interesting parts:

"It's sensational how Croatian public is unaware of the details from Tesla's diary, although Professor Ljubica Stefan, an author of the numerous books, made ​​sure that many interesting information get in Croatia. While living in Belgrade she had an opportunity to see Tesla's diary and some other secret data. They thought she was a Serb, so they showed her some closely guarded secrets - said Dr. Peter Vucic, a famous Croatian intellectual whose specialty is geopolitics. A record from the secret diary of Nikola Tesla, hidden at the state archives in Belgrade, was released at the 55th page of the book Speech to Croats on the right path."

Here is what Tesla said:

"I'm glad that Croats consider me to be one of them too, since my ancestors were Croatian noblemen by the name of Draganić from Zadar. As Croatian noblemen they came to Lika in 16th century and stayed there. My ancestors came to Lika via Novi Vinodol (note: historical part of Croatia). My mother's ancestors, by the name of Kalinić, were also Croatian nobles of the New Vinodol. Due to the circumstances, my great-grandfather had to go to Bosanska Krajina (Turkish Croatia - note: historical name for occupied parts of medieval Croatia) and there married Orthodox girl and converted to Orthodox Christianity. He had protruding front teeth so he was called by tool named "tesla" used to process wood, and hence my current name Tesla. This was actually a nickname. My grandfather was an officer in the regiment of Lika, and my father an Orthodox arch priest! "

Nota bene: Tesla studied at Graz and Prag, as did most of the Croats of that time. Before that he paused for two years in his schooling, due to the pressure of his parents to become a priest which was against his wishes. Tesla wanted to leave his manuscripts "to his old country". Tito's diplomat and Tesla's cousin Savo Kosanović deliberately misinterpreted his wish and that's how they ended up in Belgrade instead of the country he was born and raised in.

Now I hope this makes it a bit more clear what the origin of this genius is.

Answer 2

Nikola Tesla was of Serbian descent, born in Smiljan which is in modern-day Croatia. However, during Tesla's time, the region was part of the Austrian Empire. Tesla identified himself as Serbian.