Original scientific paper
About honorary doctorates awarded to Nikola Tesla in Zagreb and elsewhere
Branko Hanžek
orcid.org/0009-0007-1897-8479
; Institute for the History and Philosophy of Sciences, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ante Kovačića 5, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This paper aims to provide a systematic and
comprehensive overview of the process involved in
awarding honorary doctorates to Nikola Tesla at the
University of Zagreb as well as other universities and
colleges. Primary sources of information were reviewed
(laws, documents, translation of doctoral diploma,
newspaper article) for the doctorate awarded
by the University of Zagreb. Secondary sources (reference
literature, catalogs, web pages) were reviewed
for doctorates awarded by other univeristies. The
findings were critically evaluated. It is briefly mentioned
that Tesla was given an honorary position on
the new rector’s chain. The critical evaluation indicated
that a lot of erroneous data has been published
so far. These erroneous data have been carefully corrected.
Additionally, new data has been discovered,
analysed and incorporated in the manuscript. Based
on the data treated in this way, a synthesis of knowledge about the awarding of honorary doctorates to
Nikola Tesla was made.
Keywords
Nikola Tesla; awarding of honorary doctorate by University of Zagreb; awarding of honorary doctorates by other universities and colleges
Hrčak ID:
345659
URI
Publication date:
30.10.2026.
Visits: 263 *