Georgina-Đuka Tesla, nee Mandić, (1822 - April 4, 1882) was the mother of Nikola Tesla. She invented devices and tools, and was talented at handiwork and crafts. Đuka was the daughter of the Serbian Orthodox priest Nikola Mandić (1800 - 1863) from the town of Gračac in Lika, modern-day Croatia, otherwise a member of a prominent Serb family of the Banija (a region to the north of Lika). 1822 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Nikola Tesla (July 9/July 10, 1856 - January 7, 1943) was a physicist, inventor, and electrical engineer of unusual intellectual brilliance and practical achievement. ... Modern hammer A tool is, among other things, a device that provides a mechanical or mental advantage in accomplishing a task. ... Early history The Serbs migrated to the Balkans during the reign of Byzantine emperor Heraclius (610-641). ... Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. ... Serbs (in the Serbian language Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...

Biography

Đuka was born in the small village of Tomingaj (translated as "Tomo's grove" - named after her great-grandfather). Her mother was blinded when she was 16 years old and so she took care of her seven younger siblings until her marriage. She married Serb Orthodox Reverend Milutin Tesla in 1847. She was illiterate, though far more talented than expected. 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Đuka had five children with Milutin Tesla. Their names were:

Dane (1848 - 1861)

Angelina (married name: Trbojević; married a Serbian Orthodox priest)

Milka (married name: Glumičić; married a Serbian Orthodox priest)

Nikola (1856 - 1943) [the fourth child]

Marica (married name: Kosanović; married a Serbian Orthodox priest)

She was gifted with a sense of intuition and bestowed inventiveness on her children. Nikola was born "at the stroke of midnight" during a summer storm and lightning. The midwife commented, "He'll be a child of the storm," to which Đuka replied, "No, of light." Đuka moved to Gospić in 1862 with her family. In 1879, when Milutin died, Đuka lived in Gospić, with her brother, Priest Petar. Đuka died three years later, on an Easter Saturday at one o'clock in the morning. Nikola Tesla (July 9/July 10, 1856 - January 7, 1943) was a physicist, inventor, and electrical engineer of unusual intellectual brilliance and practical achievement. ... Gospić is a town in Croatia, Lika region. ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

She was buried beside her husband, in the Jašikovac cemetery in Divoselo. Nikola raised individual tombstones of white marble (of similar height and likeness) to each of his parents. On Đuka's stone was written: Headstones in the Japanese Cemetry in Broome, Western Australia A cemetery in rural Spain A typical late 20th century headstone in the United States A headstone, tombstone or gravestone is a marker, normally carved from stone, placed over or next to the site of a burial. ...

Đuka Tesla

Wife of Priest Tesla

Đuka Tesla's birth house in Tomin gaj was under the protection of the state from 1945 to 1991, but later fell into disrepair and ruin.

Reference

• Serbian National Federation Information (http://www.serbnatlfed.org/Archives/tesla-mother.htm)