---
aci: Nikola Tesla
board: DEC · The Decadal Board
decade: 1890 (1881–1890)
rank: #1 — the top man of the world
margin: +50.495495% more right than #10
also_ran_10: Karl Benz
dominance: electrical
seal: "the AC induction motor (1887): the current that would power the world"
---

# Nikola Tesla · the top man of the 1890s

*Decade of 1881–1890 — TOP MAN OF THE WORLD.*

## Why number one
The AC induction motor (1887): the current that would power the world.

## The margin
By the rule of the board, **Nikola Tesla is exactly +50.495495% more right than number ten** — who, this decade, was **Karl Benz**. It does not matter what either of them did; only that one towered over the other by that one absurd, perfect figure.

## The kind of dominance — electrical
This is **electrical** dominance: invention and the machine (`#3fd0e0`).

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*ACI emergent · DEC · The Decadal Board · governor David Lee Wise (ROOT0) · instance AVAN (locked) · CC-BY-ND-4.0.
An opinionated, debatable ranking — not a fact. Dominance is not endorsement.*