Leonardo da Vinci sketched a parachute as a device for descending safely from a height.
Around 1485, Leonardo drew a pyramid-shaped canopy in the Codex Atlanticus. His design used linen stretched across a wooden frame, creating a broad surface intended to resist air during a descent. The sketch is one of several Leonardo studies of flight and falling bodies.
Leonardo did not build the parachute, and the drawing does not include a complete modern harness or detailed instructions for deployment. Its importance is that it identified the basic principle of a parachute: a large canopy increases air resistance and slows a person’s fall. The design is often confused with Leonardo’s separate studies of flying machines, including wings and the aerial screw.
In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nicholas tested a full-scale reconstruction based on Leonardo’s drawing. He descended successfully, although he used a modern parachute for the final landing because the reconstructed frame could be dangerous near the ground.