Tesla was the fourth child in a family of five children.
He was born in 1856 in Smiljan, then part of the Austrian Empire’s Military Frontier and now in Croatia. His parents were Milutin Tesla, an Eastern Orthodox priest, and Georgina “Đuka” Mandić. Tesla was the fourth of their five children, placing him near the end of the family rather than as its youngest member.
His siblings included an older brother, Dane, and sisters Angelina, Milka, and Marica. Dane’s death in a childhood accident deeply affected Tesla and was later associated with the family’s decision to encourage his education. In 1862, the family moved to nearby Gospić, where Tesla continued his schooling.
A frequent mistake is to count only the surviving children or to confuse Tesla’s position with his birth order among boys. The standard biographical wording is precise: he was the fourth child of five.