Happy Birthday Tesla: Is His Work More Popular Than Ever?

With each passing year, popular interest in the works of Nikola Tesla seem to grow and take on new direction. This Wednesday, marks the 157th anniversary of Tesla's birth. 

Zagreb, the capital of Croatia - where Tesla was born in on July 10, 1856 - will celebrate his birthday with a three-day conference on the lesser known details of his life, called "Tesla in Zagreb" from July 9 to July 11. 

Tesla became a naturalized American citizen at age 35, with his famous laboratory Wardenclyffe sits in Shoreham. 

Wardenclyffe has been the site of much buzz and renewed interested in a Tesla museum over the past year. 

In July 2012, a nonprofit group the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe to purchase the Tesla property in Shoreham and build a museum in his name recently took off after web comic creator The Oatmeal, a known Tesla fan who created a comic [warning: foul language] about him that started it all,began a fundraiser on indiegogo.com.

The non-profit group reached their fundraising goal of $850,000 thanks to a $33,333 donation by the indie filmmakers of “Fragments From Olympus-The Vision of Nikola Tesla." 

Tesla Science Center finished their fundraiser with $1,370,511 in October 2012,   allowing them to secure a matching grant of $850,000 and put funds towards the development of the museum. 

Tesla continued to gain growing popularity online being featured in the popular YouTube series "Epic Rap Battles of History" in March 2013. 

The sale of his Tesla's famous Wardenclyffe labs to the Tesla Science Center was made official in May. It marked the start of efforts to preserve the property and create a Shoreham museum to honor Tesla's works. 

The world got its first glimpse inside Wardenclyffe when the nonprofit group opened the doors in May, giving an idea of what was and what had been preserved on the grounds. 

Do you think Nikola Tesla is becoming more popular in recent years? Why? 

Tell us in the comments below.