6. Helicopter

In the late 1480s, he even drew his design for an 'aerial screw', a flying object which is incredibly similar to a modern-day helicopter.

Leonardo designed various aerial machines, including an early parachute, the aforementioned ornithopter and a hang glider.

7. Anatomical Studies

Da Vinci is also considered one of the greatest anatomists the world has ever known.

He dissected more than 30 bodies of both genders and all ages during his lifetime, leaving behind many incredibly accurate anatomical drawings.

His detailed studies of organs, bones, vessels and muscles have stood the test of time, becoming go-to illustrations in medical textbooks.

Experts argue that 'his work remarkably anticipates modern techniques such as MRI scans and 3D computer modeling.'

Comparison: an anatomical drawing of a hand and a modern-day medical scan.

Da Vinci once famously said that 'things of the mind left untested by the senses are useless.'

Leonardo astoundingly depicted the human fetus over 500 years ago, accurately illustrating its position within a dissected uterus.

Comparison: CT scan of a pregnant woman with full term fetus (pictured left) and da Vinci's sketch of a baby inside the womb (pictured right).

This sketch of the bone structure of the skull has been universally admired for its accuracy and proportion.

'I still use his drawings to teach surgeons and medical students today.' -Peter Abrahams, professor of clinical anatomy at Warwick Medical School.

8. Leonardo also produced extremely precise maps like this one—deemed the 'most accurate of its time'—through meticulous manual measurements of every building's angles and distances in the city.

Comparison: da Vinci's map of Imola and the Google Earth photo of the same city.

9. Perspective - Adoration of the Magi

This unfinished early painting was meant to showcase Leonardo's expertise in composition and perspective.

'The art of perspective is of such a nature as to make what is flat appear in relief and what is in relief flat.' -Leonardo da Vinci

10. Botany

He admittedly found much of his inspiration in nature:

'The painter strives and competes with nature. There is nothing in all nature without its reason, nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous. If you know the reason, you do not need the experience.'

Leonardo's botanical studies are evident in the Louvre version of 'The Virgin of the Rocks,' where each meticulously depicted plant is instantly recognizable to any botanist.

'As a day well spent makes sleep seem pleasant, so a life well employed makes death pleasant.' -Leonardo da Vinci

The Italian polymath died on May 2, 1519, at the age of 67. This is his tomb in the chapel of Saint Hubert at the Château d'Amboise, marked by a plaque indicating it