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Leonardo Da Vinci


Leonardo was born near the little town of Vinci, Italy on April 15, 1452. At an early age, Leonardo showed extraordinary talents and varied interests. It is said that he frequently confused his math tutors with all his questions. He played musical instruments, sang and of course, was incredibly good at painting. As he got older, it was apparent that he was also an inventor and scientist.

Leonardo journaled his thoughts and ideas complete with sketches, in notebooks. His notebook labeled “Inventions” is fascinating because of the ideas he had in it. Many of the inventions were of things developed centuries later, which made some to wonder if he was able to see into the future. A couple of the drawings found in this notebook were of an armored car similar to a tank and multi-barreled missile launchers. Other things were similar to life preserver, a parachute, and mechanical saws and drills.

He also drew flying machines. He thought that, if a flying machine could be built, man could fly freely as the birds. His drawings included a machine with flapping wings and something similar to a helicopter. Unfortunately, almost all of his inventions remained on paper because all that was available as power was humans and animals. He also was interested in the power of water. He sketched pictures of waterwheels that provided power. Most of his inventions remained on paper and never developed, but he did create the first lock for a channel.

Because of Leonardo’s curious mind, he was fascinated with science and how things worked. He studied and documented the way flowers and plants grow. He was also interested in how cannonballs flew through the air. He realized the cannonball flew differently depending on the amount of gunpowder used and the amount of wind present. This became very useful information for armies.

He...