Leonardo da Vinci sketched a parachute for slowing a person's fall.
His design appears in the Codex Atlanticus and consists of a pyramid-shaped wooden frame covered with linen cloth. Leonardo proposed that a person could descend safely from a great height using the structure, although he did not record a practical test of it.
The design is often described as an early parachute concept, not as a confirmed working aircraft. It also differs from modern parachutes, which use flexible canopies rather than a rigid pyramid frame.
Leonardo's sketch belongs to his wider study of air resistance, falling bodies, and human flight. Centuries later, parachutes developed through ballooning and aviation into the round and ram-air designs used today.