I am a big fan of Nikola Tesla. He was a brilliant man. If it wasn't for Tesla, we would be using costly and inefficient DC electricity, instead of AC. He invented a working brushless AC induction motor, radio before Marconi, x-rays before Roentgen, and arguably may have discovered electrons in 1891. He proved you could transmit electricity wirelessly, but efforts to prove wide-scale transmission of electricity proved to be insurmountable and his achievements were not recognized while he was alive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla
Another invention... the Tesla Coil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla
Another invention... the Tesla Coil