Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519) was a painter, sculptor, architect, scientist, musician and writer. Da Vinci was a great engineer and inventor who designed buildings, bridges, canals, forts and war machines. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance man, a man whose unquenchable curiosity was equaled only by his powers of invention. He was also fascinated by birds and flying and drew designs of fantastic flying machines. Da Vinci was also intrigued with the study of optics and conducted extensive investigations and made drawings about the nature of light, reflections, and shadows. Even though it was not until over 100 years later that the first telescope was invented by Hans Lippershey, da Vinci realized the possibility of using lenses and mirrors to view heavenly bodies. Da Vinci was one of the greatest painters of all times. The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa are two of his best-known paintings (Molecular Expressions)

Sources for this text: Molecular Expressions: Images from the Microscope http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/