There are very few people who are as learned as Leonardo da Vinci was. Born on April 15, 1452, Leonardo was a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. Here's more:

Leonardo da Vinci's self-portrait

>> Leonardo was the illegitimate son of the wealthy Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci, a Florentine legal notary, and Caterina, a peasant.

>> As a child Leonardo da Vinci was an extremely quick learner and adept at improvisation. When studying arithmetic, he made remarkable progress and could baffle his teacher with the questions and problems that he raised.

>> According to account by Renaissance biographer Giorgio Vasari, after learning to play the lyre as a child, Leonardo da Vinci created one in 1479 in the shape of a horse. It was made "mostly of silver", and of "sonorous and resonant" tone. Da Vinci was sent to the Duke of Milan Ludovico Sforza's court by Lorenzo de' Medici to present this lyre to the Duke as a gift where his performances so far surpassed those of Ludovico's court musicians.

>> Leonardo da Vinci was a strict vegetarian due to his immense love of animals. He even questioned the morality of eating animals when it was not necessary for health.

>> Another one of Giorgio Vasari's accounts described Leonardo da Vinci possessing incredible physical strength in his youth. He was physically so strong that he could withstand violence and with his right hand he could bend the ring of an iron door knocker or a horseshoe as if they were lead.

>> Leonardo da Vinci's penchant for writing in reverse order or mirror image is mostly considered by many as his need to keep his works secret. It has been pointed out in some sources that due to his left-handeness Da Vinci could merely be using the method for practical purposes as it was easier for him to write that way.