PEOPLE WHO CHANGED THE WORLD Over hundreds of years humans have achieved many extraordinary feats from making groundbreaking discoveries to dreaming up fantastic stories and providing inspiration and hope to people around the world This book will profile just a few of the incredible people throughout history who working in the sciences and arts have changed people’s lives forever 4
Why is Leonardo da Vinci called a Renaissance Man How did Shakespeare’s plays change the world What shocked Benjamin Franklin Why was Ada Lovelace one hundred years before her time How did Florence Nightingale help the sick and injured How did Marie Curie help us look inside the human body How did Albert Einstein change the way we view the world What contribution did Sidney Poitier make to movies Why is Anne Frank so inspirational to so many people How did Nina Simone’s music influence the world How did Sir Tim Berners-Lee get us all online How did J K Rowling cast a spell over the way we read Let’s go on a journey to find the answers to these questions and more 5
LEONARDO DA VINCI Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 near Vinci Italy From an early age Leonardo showed he had artistic talent At 14 years old he began to work in Florence for the famous artist Andrea del Verrocchio During this time he developed a wide range of artistic skills including painting sculpting drawing and even carpentry Replica of an artist’s workshop from the time of da Vinci Although not many of da Vinci’s original drawings paintings and sculptures remain in existence he is still considered to be one of the greatest artists who ever lived One of the most famous paintings in the world the Mona Lisa was painted by da Vinci The painting is located in the Louvre Museum in Paris and receives more than six million visitors every year Experts estimate the painting is worth nearly 800 million Da Vinci painted in the Renaissance style The Renaissance period was a time of discovery and observation in the sciences and arts with a focus on revealing truth 6
In 1482 da Vinci was offered a job with the Duke of Milan Da Vinci worked for him as a painter sculptor and even as an inventor Da Vinci invented and sketched war machines for the Duke He also designed very early versions of the bicycle helicopter and airplane in the 1400s Da Vinci was not just a great artist He is also recognized as a great inventor and scientist Da Vinci was very interested in the science of the body He made many sketches of body parts Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest artists in history He inspired many artists while he lived and he continues to inspire today Da Vinci’s achievements in many different fields have earned him the modern-day nickname Renaissance Man 7
