Leonardo da Vinci sketched a parachute in 1485 as a pyramid-shaped wooden frame covered with linen.
His note proposed that a person could descend safely from any height with this structure. The design was not tested in Leonardo’s lifetime, and it differs from the flexible fabric parachutes used today.
The concept belongs to Leonardo’s broader study of flight and falling bodies. He investigated how air resistance could support a person, just as he examined birds and wing motion.
In 2000, Adrian Nichols built and tested a modern interpretation of Leonardo’s design. It descended successfully, although Nichols used a separate parachute for safety because the wooden structure was difficult to control.