Portrait of a Genius.

Leonardo Da Vinci was seen as a great artist during his lifetime. The same cannot be said for his life as an inventor. His genius as an inventor was only truly known through reading his secret manuscripts after his death. His want to invent was because of his curiosity and insatiable quest for knowledge. He was able to invent the earliest prototypes of such things as the steam cannon, the machine gun, the submarine, the depth charge, and the tank, all which were welcome inventions of the day for monarchs who saw their usefulness in warfare.