Early Life
In 1856, Nikola Tesla was born in the village of Smiljan of the Austrian Empire. His parents were both Serbian, his father Milutin, and his mother Duka, a resourceful woman who would create tools to help with home chores. It is to her that Tesla credits his inventive skills. He spent his early childhood in Smiljan, where he was born, then at the age of six, in the year 1862, he moved to Gospić, a city roughly five kilometers away. There he finished both primary and middle school, and then for his secondary school he moved once more, to Karlovac, 150 kilometres north. In this city, Tesla attended the Higher Real Gymnasium school.
The Tesla home
Tesla grew up in a Orthodox Christian household, since his father was a Serbian Orthodox Priest and his mother was the daughter of one. Tesla himself didn't believe in the religion, although he did have a respect for the ideals in Buddhism and Christianity. He had 3 older siblings, his brother Dane (born 1849), and sisters, Angelina (born 1850), and Milka (born 1851), and one younger sister, Marica (born 1858). Later, in the year 1861, Dane died after falling off of a horse, at the young age of 12.
Picture thanks to: http://www.teslasociety.com/birthplace.htm