1452 - 1519
Welcome to our Game Changers.
The world moves forward because of game changers, those who see possibilities where others see limits. Across every industry, innovative organizations are transforming the way we live.
The OG of Innovation
Meet Leonardo da Vinci, the original Renaissance visionary who turned curiosity into a superpower. Ever been so fascinated by how something works that you just had to take it apart, even if that something was the entire universe? For Leonardo, that moment came frequently! Whether it was the arc of a bird’s wing or the rhythm of the human heart, he wasn’t just content to observe. He needed to understand.
And he did. Like, really did.
Born in 1452 in Vinci, Italy, Leonardo didn’t come from a noble or wealthy background. He was an illegitimate child, denied access to formal education in Greek or Latin, but he made up for it with boundless curiosity and a sketchbook that never left his side. He apprenticed under a master artist in Florence, but he didn’t stop at painting. Leonardo’s mind darted from anatomy to engineering, from hydraulics to flight.
Among his inventions: early designs for a flying machine, a prototype for a helicopter, an armored vehicle, and a robot knight that could sit, wave, and even move its jaw. His anatomical sketches were so detailed that they wouldn’t be rivaled for centuries. His Vitruvian Man? Still the gold standard for demonstrating the ratios and proportions found in human anatomy.
And if this wasn't enough, he painted the Mona Lisa and diagrammed how blood moves through the heart. He envisioned machines we wouldn’t see until the 20th century and some that still stretch the imagination today. Leonardo didn’t just think outside the box. He never even saw the box.
Was every idea built in his lifetime? Not even close. But his influence is timeless. Leonardo died in 1519, but his notebooks lived on, filled with thoughts that reached across the centuries. They remind us that art and science, creativity and logic, aren’t opposites; they make for really interesting partners.
So the next time you sketch in a notebook, brainstorm a wild idea, or ask ‘why’ when no one else has, tip your hat to Leonardo da Vinci, the most curious thinker of them all.
SOURCES
At Wellspring, we empower breakthroughs. Our solutions give innovators the tools, insights, and confidence to turn bold ideas into game-changing realities. Every great innovation begins with a decision to change the game. Will you be next?
