Leonardo da Vinci designed a pyramid-shaped parachute with a linen canopy.
His notebook description proposed a canopy about 7.2 metres wide and deep, supported by a wooden frame. Leonardo wrote that a person could jump from a great height while enclosed beneath the structure, which would slow the descent through air resistance.
The design was not tested during his lifetime. In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nicholas built and tested a version using historically plausible materials; it descended successfully, although he used a modern parachute for safety near the ground.
Leonardo’s drawing did not create the modern parachute, which developed through later experiments with balloons, silk canopies, and military equipment. It is notable because it clearly describes a controllable descent device centuries before parachutes became practical.