#5: Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519)
Leonardo da Vinci spent his life refusing to choose just one lane. Born near Florence, he became a painter, engineer, anatomist, architect, inventor, and student of the natural world. His notebooks cover everything from muscles and bones to birds, water, machines, bridges, and flying devices. He even dissected human corpses to study anatomy, despite the legal and religious risks. Many of his projects remained unfinished, but Leonardo’s curiosity never did. The Renaissance gave him an entire menu of subjects, and he apparently saw no reason to order just one.
