Leonardo da Vinci designed a pyramidal parachute in 1485 to slow a person's descent from the air.
His notes describe a linen canopy coated with starch and supported by wooden poles. The design is usually reconstructed as a pyramid about 7 metres high and 7 metres wide at its base. Leonardo reasoned that a person could descend safely if the canopy created enough air resistance.
The drawing appears in the Codex Atlanticus, a large collection of Leonardo's papers. It was a theoretical design rather than a documented flight test, and Leonardo did not claim to have built or used it.
Modern parachutes use flexible fabric canopies, suspension lines, and harnesses, so Leonardo's rigid pyramid is very different in construction. In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nicholas tested a full-scale replica and descended successfully, although he used a modern parachute for the final part of the landing.