Leonardo da Vinci was a person.
Leonardo da Vinci . Born out of wedlock to a notary , Piero da Vinci , and a peasant woman , Caterina , in Vinci in the region of Florence , Leonardo was educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter Andrea del Verrocchio . Some of his smaller inventions , however , such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire , entered the world of manufacturing unheralded .