Leonardo da Vinci sketched a conical parachute as a device for slowing a person's fall.
Around 1485, Leonardo recorded the design in the Codex Atlanticus. His drawing shows a rigid pyramid-like frame covered with fabric, with the user suspended beneath it. The design was based on the idea that air resistance could counteract a person's weight during descent.
Leonardo did not build or test the parachute, so it was a theoretical invention rather than a demonstrated aircraft. Its shape differs from modern parachutes, which usually use a flexible canopy rather than a pyramidal frame.
The design is often discussed alongside Leonardo's flying-machine studies, but a parachute is designed for controlled descent, not powered or gliding flight. In 2000, Adrian Nichols built and tested a full-scale replica based on Leonardo's measurements.