Current Events and Social Studies Tools. Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site. TED Ideas Worth Spreading. Welcome to the Imperial War Museum. Resources For The Classroom. Renaissance Timelines. A list of important Renaissance figures and their contributions to the sciences, arts, religion, and government Leonardo da Vinci has often been described as the Italian archetype of the "Renaissance man" or universal genius. He was a scientist, a mathematician, an engineer, an inventor, an anatomist, a painter, a sculptor, an architect, a musician and a writer.