Nikola Tesla was born 10 July 1856, of Serbian nationality in Smiljan, the Austrian Empire.
Tesla was a bright student and in 1875 went to the Austrian polytechnic in Graz. However, he left to gain employment in Marburg in Slovenia. Evidence of his difficult temperament sometimes manifested and after an estrangement from his family, he suffered a nervous breakdown. He later enrolled in the Charles Ferdinand University in Prague, but again he left before completing his degree.