The Maid Who Found Tesla Dead
September 20, 2016
Guess who found Nikola Tesla dead?
A maid, that’s who.
On January 5th, 1943, Nikola Tesla placed a “Do Not Disturb”
sign on his door of room #3327 on the 33rd floor of the Hotel New Yorker in New
York City. He died quietly
and alone. Ignoring the sign, maid Alice Monaghan entered the room to find Tesla
dead in his bed. Assistant Medical Examiner H. W. Wembly was called to the scene
and
after examination of the body, gave his opinion that the cause of death had been
coronary thrombosis and that there had been no suspicious circumstances.
Tesla’s body was taken to the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home at Madison Ave. and
81st St. A sculptor named Ivan Mestrovic was commissioned by Hugo Gernsback, a
long-time friend and supporter of Tesla, to create a death mask which is now
displayed in the Nikola Tesla Museum. Also in the Museum are a display of his
personal things
as an illustration of his life style: an elegant crocodile leather bag, gloves,
glasses, shaving bits and an embroidered bag, “Licka torba,” made by his mother.
Numerous papers,
photographs, letters and notes are displayed along with a number of instruments
found among Tesla’s belongings. They might have had a special value to Tesla
since he kept
them until the end of his life. Unfortunately there is no evidence whether Tesla
kept them in his room or somewhere else.
The second room is devoted to Tesla’s life in the United States. There are again
a number Tesla had close friends who were writers and artists. Among them were
Mark
Twain and Robert Underwood Johnson whose photographs Tesla possessed. Tesla’s
contacts with his native land, papers about his visit to Belgrade in 1892 and
his letter
written in 1942 supporting actions of American President against fascism are
selected as illustrations of Tesla’s patriotic and humanitarian activities.
This page was originally published online at:
http://sciencevibe.com/2016/09/20/the-maid-who-found-tesla-dead/