500 years on: Leonardo Da Vinci continues to influence the world

Today marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death.

“Art is never finished, only abandoned.” — Leonardo Da Vinci ✨

Discover more online at https://t.co/nQCPv5knaw#TASCHEN #leonardo #leonardodavinci #davinci #leonardo500 #davinci500 pic.twitter.com/cRqLEW2R2W

— TASCHEN (@TASCHEN) May 2, 2019

The Italian polymath, whose full name is Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, died half a millenium ago in Amboise, France from a suspected recurring stroke.

From the Codex Arundel, this perpetual motion wheel shows how one of Leonardo’s thought experiments might have worked. In reality the wheel would always come to a stop.

Leonardo da Vinci: #AMindinMotion opens 7 June. Mark #Leonardo500 & book your ticket https://t.co/4px0CrDkrL pic.twitter.com/t4COL0hXoe

— British Library (@britishlibrary) May 2, 2019

Many know him for his works of arts in the Renaissance, such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, but his talents stretched far beyond the realms of art, to engineering, botany, architecture, engineering, invention, cartography, and so much more.

#OnThisDay 500 years ago Leonardo Da Vinci died at Château du Clos Lucé, Amboise, France – many artists at that time had chosen France as their home. Da Vinci was an iconic artist whose influence lives on to this day! #thursdaythoughts pic.twitter.com/yEnt19WOqO

— French Embassy UK🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@FranceintheUK) May 2, 2019

Da Vinci has been called the father of paleontology, ichnology and architecture and is widely revered as one of the greatest artists of all time and most diversely talented person to have ever walked the earth.

Did you know Leonardo da Vinci sketched designs for a tank-like vehicle?

Our curator Sarah Vowles joined David Willey from @TankMuseum on @BBCRadio4 to examine Leonardo’s military machines.

Listen now on @BBCiPlayer: https://t.co/5ZSj0eLlzU #Leonardo500 pic.twitter.com/N2PbLsGUnj

— British Museum (@britishmuseum) May 2, 2019

The artist had 13,000 pages of journals full of sketches of anatomy, botany and even designs for various inventions, such as an armoured fighting machine and designs for shoes to walk on water.

Today marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death.

The artist made a number of sketches depicting the infant Christ playing with a reluctant-looking cat – these drawings were done on opposite sides of the same piece of paper 🐱🐾 https://t.co/KfMJJD0iGi #Leonardo500 pic.twitter.com/TRbimdi6eq

— British Museum (@britishmuseum) May 2, 2019

Da Vinci's journals were written in a mirror-image cursive, largely believed to be because it was easier for him to so because he was left-handed.

This year, two Italian experts will perform a DNA test on a strand of hair believed to belong to da Vinci in hopes to resolve the controversy surrounding the exact location of his remains.

The hair will go on display today in the Ideale Leonardo da Vinci museum in Vinci, where he was born.