The greatest "Renaissance Man" of the 15th Century was indisputably Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). His interests encompassed painting, engineering, architecture, anatomy, sculpture, and more.

Two decades after Leonardo's birth, another polymath was born who could rightfully lay claim to "Renaissance Man" of the 16th Century. His name was Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). His interests included astronomy, mathematics, theology, medicine, and politics. He is best known for inaugurating the "Copernican Revolution"—a monumental paradigm shift away from the Ptolemaic perspective of the heavens (with Earth at the center) to the heliocentric model.