Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci is one of the greatest geniuses of all time. He was a painter, an architect（建筑师）, an engineer and a scientist. He was born in Vinci， Italy, in 1452. Vinci is a town just outside the great Italian city, Florence. His name da Vinci means “of Vinci”. Leonardo′s father was a lawyer and landowner, and his mother was a peasant. Leonardo′s parents were never married to each other.
Leonardo lived with his mother until he was around five years old. When he was five, he moved into the home of his father. By then, his father had married a 16-year-old girl. Leonardo′s mother married another man and moved another town. She had many more children with several different man. In the end, Leonardo had more than fifteen half-sisters and brothers.
As a young man, da Vinci didn′t go to school. He was educated at home, in reading, writing and mathematics. In the other subjects, he was mostly self-educated. He was access to books at his father′s home. Leonardo spent a lot of time outdoors, and developed a strong interest in nature. He loved observe things, especially birds. He was also interested in the properties of water.
Leonardo′s early drawings and paintings demonstrated（展示） a rare talent. His father and his father′s friends recognized his talent and encouraged him. When he was 15, he was sent to Florence. In Florence, he became an apprentice to a famous master painter. For the next few years, Leonardo worked at his master′s workshop. It wasn′t long time before his ability surpass that of his master. Somebody say that his master became jealous（嫉妒） of Leonardo′s great talent. They said the master vowed to never paint again. In 1478, with his father′s help, Leonardo set up his own workshop. In 1482, he entered a service of a powerful man in the city of Milan, this man was a duke（公爵） of Milan.
For the next few years, Leonardo designed buildings, machinery and weapons of war. Weapons were important because Italy was constantly at war during this period. From 1485 to 1490, Leonardo produced designs for a variety weapons. In his notes, he predicted（预言）the development of advanced weapons such as submarines（潜艇）and flying machines. In 1499, French invaded Italy, and Leonardo left Milan. All together, Leonardo spent 17 years in Milan. During this period, he spent much of his time studying nature. He dissected（仔细分析）bodies, both human and animal, to study and illustrate（图解） anatomy（解剖学）. His detailed illustrations are masterpieces（杰作）. Leonardo filled many notebooks with drawings and ideas. He wrote backwards（逆向）so you need a mirror to read them.
After 1500, Leonardo spent time in a number of Italian cities. He worked very slowly and the range of his interests was very wide. As a result, Leonardo left many paintings and projects unfinished. One painting that he did finish was the Mona Lisa, one of the world′s most famous paintings. People are still interested in this painting, 500 years after he painted, though there are many theories, nobody knows who the woman in the painting really was.
In 1516, Leonardo left Italy for good when the French King, Francis 1, offered him a position. There he had a freedom to paint and draw whatever he wanted. Leonardo died in 1519 at the age of 67. Some say that the French King, who had become the close friend, was with him when he died. He was buried in a church which was destroyed during the French revolution. The exact location of his remains（遗骸） is unknown.
