Leonardo da Vinci sketched a pyramid-shaped parachute with a sealed linen canopy to slow a person's descent.
The drawing appears in the Codex Atlanticus and is generally dated to about 1485. Leonardo proposed a canopy roughly seven metres high and seven metres wide, supported by poles and intended to remain open as a person fell. His key insight was that a broad surface would create enough air resistance to reduce downward speed.
There is no evidence that Leonardo built or tested the device. Modern experiments have shown that the concept can descend successfully, although the rigid pyramid structure may be less practical than a modern flexible parachute. The design therefore represents a remarkably early parachute concept rather than a proven working aircraft.
Leonardo's parachute is often mixed up with his ornithopter. The ornithopter attempted powered flight through flapping wings; the parachute was designed only for controlled descent. French inventor Louis-Sébastien Lenormand later made a documented parachute jump in 1783.