Nikola Tesla’s death · Room 3327
How did Nikola Tesla die?
January 7, 1943 · aged 86
Tesla died of coronary thrombosis, a clot in an artery of the heart, on the night of January 7, 1943, in room 3327 on the 33rd floor of the Hotel New Yorker in Manhattan. He was 86 and alone. A maid, Alice Monaghan, found him dead in bed early the next morning, and the assistant medical examiner put the time of death at about 10:30 p.m.
Illustration, not to scale. Times and events from Margaret Cheney, Tesla: Man Out of Time, 1981, p. 265.
- Floor and door
- Digits add to
- Divisible by 3?
- Divided by 9
The last ten years
Tesla at the Hotel New Yorker
For his last four decades Tesla lived in New York hotels. He moved into the new Hotel New Yorker on 34th Street in 1933, according to the hotel itself and to John J. O’Neill, the science writer who knew him and published the first full biography a year after his death. (Some sources say 1934.) He kept two rooms on the 33rd floor, 3327 and 3328, for the rest of his life.
He still gave interviews to reporters on his birthday, still announced inventions, and still walked out late at night to feed pigeons. In February 1935 The New York Times reported that a lost homing pigeon had flown into a 40th floor room of the hotel, and that Tesla took it in while already nursing a sick pigeon in his own room. The pigeon story.
The night of January 7
Margaret Cheney’s 1981 biography gives the details. Early on the morning of January 8, a maid named Alice Monaghan “ignored the sign and entered the apartment to find the inventor dead in bed.” Assistant Medical Examiner H. W. Wembly placed the time of death at 10:30 p.m. on January 7 and gave his opinion that the cause was coronary thrombosis.
Room 3327 today
Can you stay in Tesla’s room?
In 2014 IEEE Spectrum reported that Tesla’s two rooms “still accommodate paying guests” and are often requested by fans. The Tesla Memorial Society of New York also describes 3327 as a regular hotel room open to guests, with a plaque on the door. We could not confirm whether you can request it today, so ask the hotel before you book.
Outside, a plaque unveiled on July 10, 2001, his birthday, by the hotel and the Tesla Memorial Society, reads: “Here died, on January 7, 1943, at the age of 87, the great Yugoslav-American scientist-inventor.” The plaque says 87. He was born on July 10, 1856, so he was 86 when he died, six months short of 87.
The 3327 math, straight
3327 is divisible by 3: 3 + 3 + 2 + 7 = 15, and 3327 = 3 × 1,109. That fits the habit he described in 1919, that repeated acts had to be divisible by three, though no source says he chose the room for that reason. A claim that spreads online says 3327 ÷ 9 = 369. It does not: 9 × 369 = 3,321, six short, so 3327 ÷ 9 = 369.67. His other room, 3328, is not divisible by 3 at all. Why Tesla cared about threes.
Real vs legend
What is history and what is story
| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| Tesla died on January 7, 1943, at the Hotel New Yorker. | Real |
| He died in room 3327 on the 33rd floor. | Real |
| The cause was coronary thrombosis, in the medical examiner’s opinion. | Real · Cheney 1981 |
| A maid, Alice Monaghan, found him the next morning. | Real · Cheney 1981 |
| He was 87. | 86 · the plaque is off by one |
| 3327 ÷ 9 = 369. | False · 369.67 |
| He chose room 3327 because it is divisible by 3. | No source |
Questions
Tesla’s death
How did Nikola Tesla die?
He died of coronary thrombosis, a blood clot in an artery of the heart, according to the assistant medical examiner. He died in bed, alone, in room 3327 of the Hotel New Yorker on the night of January 7, 1943.
When did Nikola Tesla die?
On January 7, 1943. The medical examiner placed the time of death at about 10:30 p.m. A maid found him early the next morning, January 8.
How old was Tesla when he died?
He was 86. He was born on July 10, 1856, and died on January 7, 1943. The plaque outside the Hotel New Yorker says 87, which is off by one.
What room did Tesla die in?
Room 3327, on the 33rd floor of the Hotel New Yorker at 34th Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan. He had lived there, in rooms 3327 and 3328, since 1933.
Can you stay in Tesla’s room at the Hotel New Yorker?
As of 2014 his two rooms were still rented to paying guests, according to IEEE Spectrum, and the Tesla Memorial Society of New York describes 3327 as a regular guest room with a plaque on the door. Check with the hotel for current availability.
Is 3327 divisible by 9, or equal to 9 × 369?
No. 3327 is divisible by 3, since 3327 = 3 × 1,109, but not by 9. 9 × 369 = 3,321, so 3327 ÷ 9 is about 369.67.
Sources
Where this comes from
- Margaret Cheney, Tesla: Man Out of Time, Prentice-Hall, 1981, chapter 28, p. 265. Scan: worldradiohistory.com.
- Hotel New Yorker, history, “1933 Tesla Moves In”: newyorkerhotel.com.
- Bill Glovin, “Nikola Tesla Slept Here,” IEEE Spectrum, October 30, 2014: spectrum.ieee.org.
- Tesla Memorial Society of New York, Hotel New Yorker room: teslasociety.com.
- Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, about Nikola Tesla: teslasciencecenter.org.
- John J. O’Neill, Prodigal Genius: The Life of Nikola Tesla, 1944, chapter 20: archive.org.
- “Dr. Tesla Gives Home to an Errant Pigeon,” The New York Times, February 6, 1935, transcribed at teslauniverse.com.
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Poster
Room 3327, printed and framed.