Leonardo da Vinci
1452–1519 · Italian · Renaissance
Known for: Ultimate Renaissance polymath—painter, scientist, inventor, anatomist, and engineer
Leonardo da Vinci was curious about literally everything and finished almost nothing. He painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper—two of the most famous artworks ever created—but left dozens of paintings unfinished. His notebooks contain thousands of pages of drawings and ideas for flying machines, tanks, submarines, and anatomical studies centuries ahead of their time.
He dissected over 30 human corpses to study anatomy, designed a mechanical knight (arguably the first robot), and made detailed observations about geology, botany, and fluid dynamics. He wrote in mirror script, was left-handed, vegetarian, and reportedly so physically beautiful that people stopped to stare at him on the street.
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