Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)

   Leonardo Da Vinci was most renowned for his fabulous paintings in the Italian Renaissance, the most famous of which are The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and Madonna of the Rocks. You may also recognize a very famous drawing of his, The Vitruvian Man. Leonardo dedicated his life to the art of... ART.

  Yes, Leo was a very creative man, but he was also a man of science and an inventor! Many of the conveniences we have today are around because Leo at least came up with the idea for them. True many of them have military purposes, he WAS employed by the Catholic Church after all, but without them we might well still be using bow-and-arrows or throwing rocks with trebuchets.

    Here is a link to Cracked.com showcasing all the devices he invented that have military applications. 

    Amongst the other things Leo has invented there are the Odometer, the idea of photography, the basis for medical anatomy, and he basically drew the blueprints for what would eventually become the Player Piano that you'd see in a saloon in the Olde West.

    With all this said you by now, no doubt, think of Da Vinci as a true Renaissance Rambo! He just goes in, guns blazing and paints the carnage afterward. But what most don't tell you is that back in 1476 Leo, along with 3 other young men, were tried and charged with sodomy. Leo was later acquitted by the church in order to be employed as the one of Vatican's painters and its chief "weapons of death" designer. Funny how the church can look the other way when you prove to be inherently useful.

Hmmmmmmmmm...

    Though Da Vinci was never again actually caught engaging in acts of homo-sex, there were certainly allegations and rumors about the nature of his sexual appetite and wonderings throughout Rome and Florence.

    I solute you, Leonardo Da Vinci, for living in a time when being gay was punishable by exile or even DEATH! You left your legacy in our hearts and minds. Your contributions and bravery have earned you the first of many blog entries to come on "Homo of the Week".