Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ( Italian: [leoˈnardo di ˌsɛr ˈpjɛːro da (v)ˈvintʃi] ( listen ) ; 15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519), more commonly Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo , was an Italian polymath whose areas of interest included invention , painting , sculpting , architecture , science , music , mathematics , engineering , literature , anatomy , geology , astronomy , botany , writing , history , and cartography . He has been variously called the father of palaeontology , ichnology , and architecture, and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. Sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachute , helicopter and tank , [1] [2] [3] he epitomised the Renaissance humanist ideal. Many historians and scholars regard Leo...