Leonardo da Vinci sketched a parachute for a person descending from a height.
His design, recorded in the Codex Atlanticus around 1485, used a rigid pyramidal frame covered with fabric. Leonardo reasoned that the structure would slow a fall by resisting the air, much as a sail catches wind. The drawing is one of his best-known studies of controlled descent.
Leonardo did not build or test the parachute, so it was a theoretical invention rather than a demonstrated flight device. In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nicholas made a test parachute based on the sketch and reported that it descended successfully, although he used a modern reserve parachute for safety.
The design is often called Leonardo's parachute, but it was not the first modern parachute in practical use. Later inventors developed collapsible fabric canopies that were lighter and more suitable for aviation and sport.