Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Overview
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519) was a multi-talented Italian Renaissance Roman Catholic polymath: architect, anatomist, sculptor, engineer, inventor, geometer, musician and painter. He has been described as the archetype of the "Renaissance Man" and as a universal genius, a man infinitely curious and infinitely inventive. Leonardo is seen as indispensable to all of the above fields and they often complemented each other. As he became more renowned as an artist, he undertook medical inquiries and dissections of the human body to be able to portray it better, thus, simultaneously advancing medical knowledge and artistic prowess (see Vitruvian Man).
His advancement in scientific knowledge easily overshadowed all previous knowledge in the fields of anatomy and the study of fluids. He also experimented with poisons.