If you do not know who Tesla is, he is probably the most prolific inventor EVER! He out invented Edison and actually beat him toe to toe in the DC vs AC war between them. Over the past month or two I have found a number of websites / articles summarizing his life. Here are a few:
Theoatmeal.com website did a “Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived.” This is a very good summary of his life, presented in a brief and humorous way. If you do not know of Tesla, this is a GREAT PLACE TO START.
Also EDN Network did a wonderful slideshow on Nikola Tesla back in September.
You have to read the article for yourself (all 18 pages of it)!
You can also watch this wonderful TED Talk on Tesla: