Leonardo da Vinci’s 1485 pyramid-shaped canopy design is commonly identified as a parachute.
Leonardo described a rigid pyramid-shaped frame covered with linen. His notes suggested that a person could descend safely from a height using the device, although he did not record a practical test. The design appeared in the Codex Atlanticus, a major collection of his drawings and writings.
The concept is an early study of controlled descent, not a modern parachute blueprint. Leonardo’s canopy was shaped like a pyramid rather than the flexible, rounded canopies used today. Its dimensions were intended to provide enough air resistance to slow a falling person.
A common mix-up is calling the drawing an invention that Leonardo actually built. The surviving evidence shows a design and explanation, not a completed flight experiment. Modern parachutes developed much later through experiments with fabric canopies and harnesses.