Leonardo da Vinci sketched a parachute as a pyramid-shaped canopy for falling through the air.
Around 1485, Leonardo described a parachute made from linen stretched over a wooden framework. His notes gave the structure a height and width of roughly seven metres, creating a broad pyramid-like canopy. The purpose was to allow a person to descend safely from a great height by increasing air resistance.
Leonardo did not report testing the design, and it was not a complete modern parachute. The rigid frame would have made it heavy and difficult to control, while the materials available in Renaissance Europe limited its practicality. Nevertheless, the sketch shows a correct basic principle: a large surface slows a falling body by interacting with the air.
A modern reconstruction by Adrian Nichols was tested in 2000 and reportedly descended successfully, although Nichols used a separate parachute for safety. Leonardo’s concept is often cited as one of the earliest detailed parachute designs.