Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci is a 15th century mathematician, inventor and artist. He was a true genius and Renaissance man.

Leonardo Da Vinci – which means ‘Leonardo from the town of Vinci’ – was born on April 15th of 1452 in Anchiano, near Vinci. At the age of five, he went to live with his birth father, Piero Da Vinci.

Leonardo was taken as an apprentice by Andrea del Verrochio – a great artist and sculptor in the year 1467. From there he excelled in arts, also he created his famous secret writing. The writing was unreadable to the eye, unless held up to a mirror.
During 1472 Leonardo’s name was inscribed in the Red Book of the Painters of Florence, which was the official “guild”, or artists’ union of that time.
In 1481, he was granted the authority to paint an altarpiece for Convent of San Donato, but it wasn’t completed until 1498. It is called The Last Supper.

In 1469 Leonardo met Benedetto Aritmetico, a prominent scholar and mathematician. Benedetto drew Leonardo’s attention towards improving machinery. Which then led him to study physics.
The pope declared war against the Republic of Florence, due to the killing of the Archbishop. Leonardo made numerous devices during 1479 to aid in the war, but – to his great disappointment – he never got the chance to have them looked at.
Leonardo also drew the first known plans of an automobile. It was designed to operate by a system of elastic springs wound by hand by the person in the vehicle, then it was supposed to run the short distance it was allowed by the unwinding of the springs.
In the same year of 1479, Leonardo met Paolo del Pozzo Toscanelli. Toscanelli taught Leonardo how to draw map. “Not only did Toscanelli greatly influence Leonardo, but the course of history as well.”

Towards the end of 1482, or the beginning of 1483, Leonardo left Florence to travel to Milan. Milan – at the time – was one of the greatest and wealthiest cities in all of Europe.