Leonardo da Vinci sketched a parachute in 1485, using a pyramid-shaped linen canopy for emergency descent.
His design appears in the Codex Atlanticus and consists of a rigid wooden frame supporting a cloth canopy. Leonardo suggested that a person could descend safely from a great height with this arrangement. The drawing is an early recorded parachute concept, although there is no evidence that Leonardo built or tested it.
The design is often described as pyramid-shaped rather than round, which distinguishes it from modern parachutes. Modern parachutes use flexible fabric, suspension lines, and a harness, while Leonardo’s proposal depended on a large structural frame.
In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nichols built and tested a replica. He released it from a balloon, then cut away from it at a safe altitude because the rigid structure could be hazardous near the ground. The test showed that the basic concept could generate a controlled descent.