CASE RECORD · REAL HISTORY · ALL RECORDS
Nikola Tesla's Papers: What the Government Took in 1943
The inventor died alone in a New York hotel. Within days, his belongings were in federal custody.
Quick answer
What happened to Nikola Tesla's papers?
When Nikola Tesla died at the Hotel New Yorker in January 1943, the US Office of Alien Property took custody of his belongings, partly over wartime concerns about his claimed "death ray." MIT engineer John G. Trump examined his papers and reported nothing that posed a danger. Most of the estate was later released to Tesla's family and sent to Belgrade, where it is held by the Nikola Tesla Museum.
Timeline
- January 7, 1943Tesla dies at age 86 in his room at the Hotel New Yorker.
- January 1943The Office of Alien Property seizes his belongings, despite Tesla having been a US citizen since 1891.
- January 1943John G. Trump reviews the papers for the government and concludes they contain no dangerous secrets.
- 1952Tesla's estate is shipped to Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
- TodayThe FBI has released records relating to Tesla's papers.
What is documented, and what is not
On the record
- Federal officials took custody of Tesla's belongings after his death.
- An MIT expert reviewed them and found nothing hazardous.
- Most of the estate is in the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade.
Disputed or unproven
- Whether any papers went missing during the seizure is a long-running question with no firm answer.
- No evidence shows Tesla built a working "death ray."
Common questions
Did the government take Tesla's papers?
Yes. The Office of Alien Property took custody of his belongings in January 1943, then later released most of them.
Did Tesla invent a death ray?
He claimed to have designed a particle-beam weapon, but no working device or complete plans have ever been found.
Where are Tesla's papers now?
Mostly at the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, Serbia.
Read the record yourself
- Search the FBI Vault for Tesla ↗Federal Bureau of Investigation
- 1943 newspaper coverage of Tesla's death ↗Library of Congress search
Links go to official archives, museums, agencies and published research. Search links open the archive's own search for this topic.
THE FICTION BUILT ON THIS RECORD · FILE 051 · VOLUME VIIIThe Government Took Tesla's Papers. The Maid Kept Something Else.The greatest inventions are not lost. They are taken, and then someone decides you were never meant to have them.Read the first pages free →Last reviewed 2026-10-13. This page covers the public record only. Archive files are dramatized and always marked as files.
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