Life of Leonardo Da Vinci

Childhood (1452-1467):

• 1452, April 15 - Born in Vinci, Republic of Florence
• His childhood is mainly hidden and uknown

Apprenticeship (1467-1476):

• 1467 - Leonardo Becomes An Apprentice To Andrea Del Verrocchio, In Florence
• 1469 - Lorenzo And Giuliano De Medici Become New Rulers Of Florence. Lorenzo was close friend of Leonardo. Later Becoming his Military Engineer
• 1472 - Leonardo Becomes A Member Of The Florence Painters' Guild.
• 1473 - Leonardo Draws A Landscape On The Feast Of Santa Maria Delle Neve. This is his earliest known drawing, though he probably also had a hand in Verrochio's Baptism of Christ, which probably reached completion in or around 1473.

Troubles Beginning (1476-1482):

• 1477 - Leonardo Had At Least Some Part In The Painting The Annunciation To The Virgin, Completed Around This Time.
• 1478 - The Pazzi Family Tries To Assasinate Lorenzo And Giuliano De Medici. Lorenzo survives; Giuliano does not. This same year, Leonardo starts writing his scientific works/notebooks
• 1481 - Leonardo Receives A Commission To Paint The Adoration Of The Magi. The painting was never completed, yet was–and is–considered a masterpiece. This same year, most of the other noteworthy painters in Florence were sent to Rome to work on projects for the Pope.

The Master Moves to Milan & Later Years(1482-1499):

• 1482 - Leonardo move to Milan. Entering The Patronage Of Ludovico Sforza. By this time, Leonardo is writing in his notebooks regularly.
• 1488 - Verrochio Dies.
• 1489 - Leonardo Studies Anatomy
• 1492 - Lorenzo dies.
• 1493 - A Woman Named Caterina, Possibly Leonardo's Mother, Possibly A Servant, Becomes A Member Of His Household In Milan.
• 1495 - ·Leonardo Begins His Last Supper In The Convent Of Santa Maria Delle Grazie.
• 1497 - Leonardo Illustrates Mathematician Fra Luca Pacioli's De Divina Proportione.
• 1498 - Leonardo Decorates The Walls And Ceiling Of The Sala Delle Asse. He Also Made His First Attempts At Planning A Flying Machine Around This Time.
• 1499 - Leonardo Leaves Milan, due to French Invasion

Back to Florence & The Mona Lisa (1500-1506):

• 1500 - ·Leonardo And Pacioli Go To Mantua, Then Leonardo Continues On To Florence.
• 1502 - Leonardo Becomes Cesare Borgia's Military Engineer. Leonardo travels around the Romagna, inspecting fortifications. He meets Machiavelli.
• 1503 - On July 9, Ser Piero (Leonardo's Father) Dies.
• 1505 - Leonardo Makes A Second Attempt To Build A Flying Machine And Begins Sketches For The Mona Lisa, Which He Completes Sometime Later.
• 1507 - Leonardo Is Appointed Louis XII's Painter And Engineer. He paints a second version of the Virgin of the Rocks. He meets his beautiful young assistant, Francesco Melzi. Also, he travels to Florence in a lawsuit against his brothers of his inheritance from his uncle Francesco.

Last Years (1507-1515):

• 1513 - Leonardo Moves To Rome. Living in the Vatican, he studies the properties of mirrors. It is perhaps at this time that he paints the Turin Self-portrait
• 1515 - Around This Time, Leonardo Paints The Painting John The Baptist. He also constructs a mechanical lion for the coronation of the new king of France, Francis I.
• 1516 - Leonardo Permanently Leaves Italy For France, Where He Will Serve Francis I In His Court In Amboise.
• 1519 -In 2 May, Leonardo Da Vinci Dies at Cloux, at the age of 67

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

-- Leonardo Da Vinci

You can read more about his biography on Wikipedia