There are some people in history that have had so much influence that their contributions have surpassed their filed of expertise. Leonardo might have been a brilliant and talented artist, but many of his biggest achievements were not actually works of art, but were the designs for machines that were way ahead of his time. Not only is Leonardo da Vinci a famed artist, but he is also someone that had a number of inventions that proved to be transformative. By many people, Leonardo is regarded as one of the most brilliant people to ever live and is much more than just an artistic genius. The accomplishments that he achieved spanned much more than just art. He also made profound contributions to math and science through his inventions. It is important to have a full grasp on all the major accomplishments that Leonardo achieved. Here are a few of the major accomplishments of Leonardo Da Vinci.
1. Parachute
This is another one of Leonardo’s inventions that he is not actually credited with because he only made a sketch of a parachute. Leonardo always seemed to be infatuated with flight and gravity. After his death, it was discovered that he had a sketch for a parachute that would allow a person to drift downward gracefully instead if simply plummeting from the air. Again, he is not credited for the invention of the parachute, but he is believed by many to be the first person to come up with this idea and to make the first sketch of the design.
2. Vitruvian Man
Many people only see Leonardo as a famed artist and painter, but some of his accomplishments were actually for the field of science. The Vitruvian Man was a model that Leonardo made of a man that was completely proportionate. When he created this model he essentially helped to develop the technology of optics and lenses that was used in the creation of telescopes. Even though Leonardo was not given the recognition during his lifetime, he was eventually credited for his contribution to science through his model of the Vitruvian Man and the technology that he discovered. His other contribution for science involved his writing on the erosion of rocks and how mountains were created. He was one of the first people to have an accurate theory on the sedimentary rock. He was not seen as a scientist at his time, but many of the things that he wrote about were actually proven to be true and turned out to be big contributions to science.
3. Ball Bearing
Leonardo drew a sketch of a ball bearing system well before its time. This is an invention that changed the way that machines operate. This technology has immense power and it is something that Leonardo actually came up with an idea for way before it was actually invented. He might have not been able to create this system on its own, but he did create a sketch for the design of a ball bearing system. This idea that he came up with was not made widely known and someone else is credited with developing the first ball bearing system. However, it is included in his early sketches and shows that he might have been the first to actually come up with the idea for this invention. The reason that Leonardo is often not credited with being an inventor instead of an artist is because many of his inventions did not go beyond just sketches.
4. Mona Lisa
Many people know about Leonardo Da Vinci for his contributions to art alone. He was a famed artist and one of the most well known painters to ever live. He created very many famous paintings during his lifetime, but the one that seems to get the most recognition and is one of his greatest works is the Mona Lisa. This is considered by many people to not only be his most famous painting, but to be the most famous painting ever created. Not only has this painting continued to be popular and a part of culture due to the exquisite beauty of the subject, but also due to the mystery that surrounds that painting. The Last Supper is another one of Leonardo’s paintings that is almost as popular as Mona Lisa. His artwork is something that will live on forever and is one of his biggest accomplishments. Not only was it popularized during his life, but it has kept him a part of history after his death.
5. No Boundaries
One of this biggest accomplishments was being able to have recognition in almost every field. Not only was he an artist and known for inventions, but he also contributed to mathematics, music and was a poet. He even wrote some theories on philosophy that are highly regarded.