Leonardo da Vinci can simply be called a true genius not only of his time but of all the times. He was regarded as the best example of Renaissance Man. He had immense curiosity and was an extraordinary intellectual man. Leonardo da Vinci was Superhuman in the true sense.
He was born on 15 April 1452 in Vinci, Italy. His father Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci was a legal notary and his mother Caterina was a peasant. He remained with his mother until he was 5 years old and then moved to his father’s house.
Based on our general knowledge of Leonardo da Vinci, it might seem that we know enough about him. However, many facts about him remain hidden from the public.
Here is a list of some of the most amazing facts about Leonardo da Vinci
Fact #1 – Leonardo DA Vinci was Incredibly Intelligent
Leonardo DA Vinci was incredibly intelligent. He was a man with vast knowledge and learning. He can simply be called as a true polymath. His IQ is estimated to be around 220. He used to learn things very quickly and had tremendous capability to improvise the same to another level.
During his arithmetic learning sessions, he used to ask multiple questions that were too out of the specified boundaries which simply used to baffle his teachers.
Fact #2 – Vinci Remained Unschooled
There are many amazing facts about Leonardo DA Vinci, one among them was he had vast knowledge in the fields of geography, science, math, botany, music, architecture, sculpture, painting, anatomy, engineering, and many more.
But the most shocking reality is that he had never been to school for basic or primary education. He just got some informal education in Latin, geometry, and mathematics.
All the knowledge he acquired, he learned through personal observation and a curiosity to understand the world. He believed in innovation and in extracting new dimensions from existing knowledge, which is why he laid the foundation for numerous inventions and introduced innovation to things that already existed.
Fact #3 – The Vinci Wrote in Mirror Image
Leonardo DA Vinci was a spectacular painter, sculptor, musician, inventor, etc., but there was another peculiar art he mastered; it was his mirror writing skill. He could easily write in mirror writing style and most of his work is written in mirror writing.
His natural hand was left but he was ambidextrous. He could easily draw with one hand and at the same time could write with the other.
A considerable amount of skill and practice is necessary for an ordinary person to write and read in such a pattern. Many theories exist regarding why Vinci wrote in mirror images.
Some suggest that Vinci did this to make it difficult for people to read his notes and potentially steal his ideas. Others propose that he aimed to conceal his scientific ideas and observations from the Roman Catholic Church.
Fact #4 – DA Vinci was Persecuted
Vinci was persecuted along with two of his companions by the police under the charge of sodomy at the age of 24 years. At that time it was legally a serious crime and the punishment could be handled till death too.
Fortunately for Vinci, no witnesses or evidence related to the charges were found, and he was subsequently released by the authorities
Fact #5 – Unfinished Works in Abundance
The most interesting fact about Vinci’s work is that most of his work remained unfinished. Although he had numerous accomplishments and presented a number of remarkable inventions and innovations in the field of knowledge and practical science, a lot of projects remained under construction and were not completed.
This simply depicts his level of knowledge and approach towards innovation that he has no boundaries or limits to knowledge and practicing new things in his life. He was a person who wanted to try out everything and dig out the facts about it but had a shortage of time.
Fact #6 – DA Vinci Explained Why Sky Is Blue
Leonardo DA Vinci was credited to be the first person to explain why the sky is blue. He explained that the sky is blue because of the way air scatters lights.
He explained this 300 years before Rayleigh gave his molecular scattering theory. This easily gives us an idea of the level of curiosity and genius mind he possessed.
Fact #7 – He gave the idea of Contact Lenses
Leonardo DA Vinci devised the concept of contact lenses. In the codex of the eye manual, he speculated that the power of the corneal could be altered.
He further explained that this could be done either by submerging the head in a bowl of water or by wearing a water-filled glass hemisphere over the eyes. But none of the ideas were practical at that time.
Fact #8 – DiCaprio is named after DA Vinci
American actor and film producer Leonardo Dicaprio was named after Leonardo DA Vinci and he got his name because of a very interesting event.
His pregnant mother was looking at Vinci’s painting in a museum in Italy and he first kicked. This is how she decided to name Dicaprio after Vinci.
Fact #9 – Bill Gates bought Codes of Leicester
Bill Gates is the proud owner of the Codex of Leicester. It is a collection of scientific writings by Leonardo DA Vinci. Bill Gates bought this valuable scientific journal by Vinci in an auction at a record price of $30.8 million in 1994.
This manuscript by Vinci is the most valuable book in the world. If someone wants to go through the Codex of Leicester, you can check the digital version at the British Library.
Fact #10 – He Loved Animals
Leonardo DA Vinci was a vegetarian and had an immense love for animals. It is said that he used to buy caged animals and used to set them free. In his drawings, we can easily see the combination of science and art.
He studied various subjects like anatomy, zoology, botany, physiology, and geology.
His codex on flights of birds is a systematic analysis of flights of birds. Based on these studies and observations he proposed the mechanism for flight by machines.
Fact #11 – DA Vinci designed a Parachute
British skydiver Adrian Nicholas made a parachute based on Vinci’s designs. He ignored the advice of aerodynamics experts that such a parachute design would never work.
However, he proved them wrong by successfully testing Vinci’s designs. And after flying the parachute he said “It took one of the greatest minds who ever lived to design it, but it took 500 years to find a man with a brain small enough to actually go and fly it.”
Fact #12 – Mona Lisa
Leonardo DA Vinci was one of the most famous painters in history, but only 15 paintings are known to exist. Mona Lisa is one of the most famous pieces of artwork. It is acclaimed to be the most written about and most parodied work ever.
Leonardo the Vinci has signed his initials on the right pupil of the Mona Lisa.
Researchers at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Illinois used face-recognition software to determine that the Mona Lisa is 83% happy, 9% disgusted, 6% fearful, and 2% angry.
The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre on 21 August 1911 and before its theft, it was not widely known to the world. Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian man who worked in the Louvre stole it.
Some More Random Facts about Leonardo DA Vinci
- Leonardo DA Vinci was a prankster. He loved to wear pink and other vibrant colors.
- Leonardo da Vinci was a big fan of puns and word games. Folio 44 of his Codex Arundel contains a long list of playful synonyms for penis.
- Leonardo DA Vinci was never married and was rumored to be a homosexual by his contemporaries. Sir Kenneth Clark, an art historian said that Vinci was probably a passive homosexual.
- He died on May 2, 1519, at Clos Lucé, France. He was buried nearby in the palace church of Saint-Florentin. His last words were, “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.”
