Does medal Edison? Impaired ceremony. Katherine Johnson.

Highest scientific award for his work in the field of electrical engineering and the science of electricity in the United States was considered a medal Edison, awarded annually by the American Institute of electrical engineers.

In 1916, the chairman of the commission for awarding the medal Edison was Berend, a prominent scientist, one of the first not only to understand the meaning of the opening of Tesla's rotating magnetic field, but also developed in 1896 the theory of so-called circular motor AC chart. Berend has written one of the best known in the US textbooks on induction motors, has worked in various companies as a consultant, he held a prominent place in the American Institute of electrical engineers, and was at one time its vice-president.

All these Berend felt obliged to Nikola Tesla. In 1901, after their meeting, when Tesla ordered the company where Berend was the chief advisor of the generator manufacturer for "World System", both the engineer became friends and this friendship lasted until his death Tesla.

Berend suggested to award a medal for the 1916 Edison to whose merits before the institution was particularly large. He recalled that most of the work carried out within the walls of this institution, refer to the theory of alternating current and induction motors, that is, in one way or another connected with the first opening of Nikola Tesla. Behrend proposal was accepted, and the medal was awarded to Tesla.

Report this winner was charged Berend, but Tesla refused to accept, and this award.

- Forget all that - he answered Berend. - I appreciate your friendship, but I ask you to offer another medal. It's been thirty years since my report of the institute, and now I do not need my merits recognition. Life gave me a great recognition. May the Institute awards the Medal of the one who does not expect other awards.

- I understand you, Tesla - posted Berend.- Recognition of late, but it can not be the sole cause of your failure. On the rights of an old friend, I ask you to explain to me the reason. - Institute suggests that provides me a great honor by offering a medal. The desire to adorn me with this external sign of attention only hide from all the situation that was created for my mind - the lack of any kind was not possible to continue the work. Pantomime awarding the medal Tesla will, in essence, a celebration of Edison, who has previously undeservedly share the glory with each award, each winner of this medal. I do not want to increase his glory that will have a medal named after him.

- No, Tesla, no, you're wrong. You should take this sign of respect for all of your colleagues. We have no other way to express our gratitude to you, brought to life by an alternating current, and thus which gave an unprecedented boost to the flourishing of all parties in science and technology.

After much persuasion Berend could still convince Tesla to accept the award.

The ceremony of awarding medals demanded acceptance speech from rewarding. But Tesla refused from this - the institution is not rewarded him when he had his laboratory and performed one after the other discoveries in the field of electrical engineering.

Now he has no laboratories, no new inventions. However, everyone believed that Tesla can use this event as a reminder of their plans for the new brilliant triumph, but he did not want to do this.

Yet the celebration in honor of the winner of a new place, and the ceremony took place medals on all the accepted rules. May 18, 1917 Engineers Club in New York, gave in honor of the award gala dinner, attended by winners of medals and the members of the institute. It was one of the most outstanding collections of outstanding talents in the field of electrical engineering, and everyone expected that Tesla will deliver one of his best speeches.

Berend drove for Tesla in the hotel and found it almost ready to go to dinner. - I'm sorry, my dear Berend, I detain you for a few minutes. There is another urgent matter that I can not perform - and with these words, Tesla began to shove in the pockets of some small bags.

The lobby and lounge Club engineers had already been filled with guests when they arrived Tesla and Berend. All was quiet, once on stage, where she was to be a medal ceremony, seemed the most outstanding American electronics in the position traditionally dressed - black tuxedos and white ties. Here they have stood in a semicircle, as required by the ritual, now has a president, intending to say the traditional appeal to a new winner, but Tesla's chair was empty. All searches hero for the day in the main hall and in the adjacent rooms of the club, in the lobby and hallways were in vain. Most of all worried Berend: in fact only that Tesla was standing next to him, and it was inexplicable disappearance. All members of the committee went in search of the missing mysterious scientist, whose high and very prominent figure could not go unnoticed among the crowd.

Nobody but Berend, was unaware of Tesla's unwillingness to receive a medal and a negative attitude to the ceremony of its delivery. In Berend thought came out of the club premises and the avenue of the park surrounding the building engineering societies, which housed the club, went to the adjoining building of the Public Library.

Behrend's eyes opened shortly picture struck him with his untimely. Tesla was standing in front of the library, standing in the dark silhouette of the sunset. Around him at his feet with a soft cooing strolled back and forth, waiting for food, pigeons wide variety of colors. The most daring were sitting on the shoulders and on the head of his old friend, as always, come at a certain hour with bags of feed.

Berend almost rushed to the scientist, but instinctively restrained the impulse. Tesla saw each other, waved it and began to slowly turn to him. Feeling the movement of a person, doves flew from his head and shoulders. Only then Tesla came to Berend. - I forgot to warn you that the hour of feeding pigeons, and for me it is more important than the medal awarding - Tesla explained his disappearance.

- You could refuse the awards, but by agreeing to accept the medal, did not have to disturb the established order of its delivery, - and with these words Berend Tesla swept into the room. With a delay of twenty minutes, the ceremony was finally launched. Medal of Edison was accompanied by a speech delivered by Charles Torrey. The next speaker was Berend.

He compared the discovery of the ability to create a rotating magnetic field and use it to produce AC with the great discoveries of Faraday; even more highly of it works Tesla to build a multi-phase AC motors.

- Proper recognition or even a simple enumeration of Mr. Tesla's inventions impossible - said Berend, - and it is not currently required. Suffice it to say that if we suddenly want to collect results of Mr. Tesla, and remove them from industrial use, industrial development would be stopped, our trams, trolley buses and electric trains would stop in the towns would have reigned in the darkness, plant life came to a standstill. Yes, it works so immense that they have become the bedrock of our industry. His name marks the heyday of the science of electricity. His achievements have revolutionized the field of electrical engineering.

We have asked Mr. Tesla to accept this medal. We did this not only for the sake of rendering him honor or for the sake of the desire to perpetuate his name, for as long as the only people to be engaged in industrial production, Tesla's works are inseparable from the very idea of ​​the electrical engineering and his name is subject to no greater risk of being forgotten, than, say, the names of Faraday and Edison, and not only because our institute awards the medal to Mr. Tesla that the latter is an indication of official recognition of his services. His works are beyond this recognition. No, Mr. Tesla, we ask you to keep this medal as a symbol of our gratitude for a new creative idea of ​​the mighty, like the revolution push that you have made in our science and technology. You have lived up to the moment when you can see the realization of the creation of his genius. What is still much to be a man? I would like to refer to Mr. Tesla Pope paraphrased lines devoted to Newton:

Nature and its laws are hidden in the darkness for a long time.

But God said, "Let there be Tesla!" - And it was all lit up.

Of course, something in this speech and exaggerated. No matter how great merit in the creation of Tesla's polyphase alternating currents, can not detract from the merits of other electrical engineers who have made a lot of value in the creation of a modern three-phase AC system. Yablochkov, Lachin, Despres, Ferraris, Shallenberg, Steinmetz and, of course, MO Dolivo-Dobrovolsky should be named along with Nikola Tesla among the founders of modern electrical engineering. Collective credit these scientists and many others took part in the creative development of a wide variety of issues related to the practical use of electricity is unusually large, and the name of Tesla's standing in some of these people will never be erased from the memory of grateful humanity. Not the Edison Medal is really worthy of this award a great worker of science. Do not save the text of Tesla's acceptance speech. Forced to say a few words, he began the story of the future of electrical science, storytelling, show all fantastic and frivolous. For the majority of young electrical engineers, can not remember the brilliant lectures Tesla, his amazing discoveries and predictions, he made his speech impressed the dreamer rather than a serious scholar.

Awarding a medal does not change the position of the Tesla. As before, poverty was the most serious scourge of aging inventor. Sixtieth found him almost in poverty. The war interrupted communication with relatives in distant devastated Croatia. I have not had letters from his sister Maritza Kosanovich. Only Johnson has not forgotten his old friend. Letter from Katherine July 10, 1917 was full of the usual maternal tenderness and quiet sadness.

"Come, - she wrote - at least for a moment ... you have not seen a hundred years, but I'm always on your way.

Last Saturday and all day Sunday, I was at home because they do not know why the thought that you will come ... I'm tired of waiting for a response ... "

But Tesla more and more closed in itself. He still belonged to Katherine with great respect, courtesy and friendship. But above all he was thinking about science. "To you, this non-human creation, - once wrote Katharine - no need How odd that I can not live without you.".

In early 1920, Johnson went to Europe - Robert Underwood was appointed the US representative at the conference in San Remo, then US ambassador in Rome. For almost two years, they stayed away from New York. But the letter Katharine reached Tesla and again evoked sadness.

"How do you live? - She wrote from Italy. - I would like from you, my dear forever and eternally silent friend to get at least kakie-nibud lead, anyway, good or bad. But if you do not want me to write at least one line, give me a thought, and it will take, and will forward me some finely arranged device. I do not know why I am so sad, I feel as if life has departed from me. Maybe I was too lonely and I need company . I think that would have been happy if I'd known chto-nibud about you, about you, who does not think about anything else other than their work, and who does not need any human concerns. This is not what I wanted to say, but I really like that.

Betrayed you CJ. PS Do you remember the golden dollar you gave to Robert? All summer I wear it with him as a talisman. "

Katherine persuaded her husband to visit the country, which they have long been considered the best after America. A stay at home blue-eyed genius whose image never left Katharine all the days of their journey, was her cherished dream. And here they are in Serbia. From Belgrade Katharine Tesla wrote:

"Here we are in Belgrade ... We arrived from Rome with Mr. Vesnichem that lately there is a representative of Serbia ... I imagine your ears were burning, as we talked about you and about Rome, about you and about America, of you and of Serbia, about you and about science, about you and about you. I'm afraid that I'm most talked about you ... "

Tesla did not meet with Johnson and many months after their return from Europe. What for? Life has been lived, the past will not return, even if they do not think that Katherine was the wife of his best friend. Science, one science, one all-consuming passion.