Leonardo da Vinci designed a parachute with a pyramid-shaped canopy for a controlled descent.
He recorded the design around 1485 in the Codex Atlanticus. His concept used linen stretched over a wooden pyramid-like frame, creating a broad canopy that could slow a person falling from a height.
Leonardo did not test the device, and it was not a practical parachute in the modern sense. The design is nevertheless notable because it identified the key principle of increasing air resistance to reduce falling speed.
A common mix-up is to call Leonardo’s design a glider. A glider is intended to travel forward through the air, while this design was intended primarily to descend vertically. In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nicholas tested a full-size reconstruction and reported that it worked, although he used a modern parachute for safety during the landing.