Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, which is a small town near Florence. His father took care of the little boy, while his mother married someone else.
1470-1482: Leonardo grew up in his father's home. When he was about 15 years old he joined the famous school of Andrea del Verrochio in Florence and demonstrated very fast his great talent. For example, in 1470, Leonardo painted an angel in Verrochio's "Baptism of Christ," which was so much better than his master's one that Verrochio decided never to paint again.
1482-1499: He entered the service of the Duke of Milan in 1482. The Duke kept Leonardo busy painting and sculpting. But Leonardo worked also on a lot of subjects: painting, architecture, mechanics and human anatomy. In mechanics, he invented flying machines, tanks and other war vehicles, various combat tools and submarines. His studies and drawings were collected into old books which have been recently bought by Bill Gates for 30M$.
1500-1516: After the invasion of Italy by the French army, Leonardo worked and traveled in Italy for many employers. He painted his famous "Mona Lisa" in 1503. From 1513 to 1516, he worked in Rome for the Pope. He continued also his studies of human anatomy but the Pope forbade him from dissecting human bodies.
1516-1519: In 1516, Leonardo became the Official Painter, Engineer and Architect of the French King Francois Premier who was very generous and gave him a house near the castle at Amboise. At the end of his life, Leonardo was suffering from a paralysis of the right hand, but he still continued to draw and teach.
Leonardo died on May 2, 1519 in Cloux, France. The legend says that King Francois Premier was at his side when he died.

Baptism of Christ

Mona Lisa

Example drawing of Leonardo de VINCI

Helicopter drawing

Self