One of the greatest polymaths of all time and the archetypical Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci was born April 15, 1452, in Italy. Despite no formal education beyond elementary school-level lessons and an apprenticeship with Florentine artist Andrea del Verrocchio, he went on to make groundbreaking discoveries and advances in mathematics, engineering, human and animal anatomy, botany, sculpture, music, writing, and architecture. An inventor, da Vinci created early designs for the tank, the bicycle, the submarine, the helicopter, and the calculator; as an artist, his work The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa are some of the best known paintings of all time.
Da Vinci pursued an understanding of astronomy as well, becoming the first person to propose the concept of earthshine. Such understanding was well ahead of its time – a time when most people still believed the solar system revolved around Earth. Da Vinci was an observer as well, carefully recording notes and sketches; unfortunately, he had little interest in publishing his concepts, which meant they had no contemporary influence on how the field of astronomy would develop.
