Clara Barton was born in 1812 and is well known for attending to the wounded on the battle field of the Civil War. Something that surprised me about Clara Barton was that she was the original founder of the American Red Cross and that she developed it based on the International Red Cross in Europe. I believe she would not be a good power of one subject for research because she only affected America, not the whole world.   

Alexander Graham Bell is best known for his invention of the telephone. A surprising fact about him is that he and another man by the name of Elisha Gray both independently invented to different designs for the telephone. The funny thing is Alexander beat him to the patent office by only a few hours. I believe that Alexander Graham Bell would be an excellent choice because his invention has affected the way the world communicates. <http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventors/a/telephone.htm>

Jimmy Carter is famous for being the thirty-ninth president of the United States. Something that someone might find interesting is that Jimmy Carter was a graduate from the Naval Academy in Annapolis. I believe Carter would be a possible power of one subject and a very good one at that. Jimmy has affected the world in all the aspects needed for the power of one, whether it was as the president or as a U.S. citizen afterwards.  http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jimmycarter/

Short Bibliography

               Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the town of Vinci, Italy. He was the illegitimate son of a twenty-five year old attorney named Ser Piero and a peasant girl named Caternia. He grew up with his father in Vinci and at the age of 15 his father put him into an apprenticeship in the well-known workshop of the artist Andrea del Verrochio in the city of Florence. Leonardo da Vinci stayed in the workshop until 1477 when he started his own business.

               Leonardo’s first commission in Florence was ‘The Adoration of the Magi”, which he abandoned to go and work in Milan. During his seventeen year stay in Milan, da Vinci reached a whole new level in scientific and artistic accomplishment. While in Milan, da Vinci was always busy sculpting, painting, and designing court festivals for the Duke. The duke also had Leonardo work on creating designs for buildings, weaponry and machinery. Throughout those seventeen years da Vinci only completed about six out of the numerous projects he took on.

               In the years between 1490 and 1495 da Vinci developed his own unique way of recording his findings into a notebook. His notebooks covered four main topics: paintings, architecture, the elements of mechanics, and human anatomy. From 1513 to 1516 Leonardo da Vinci worked in Rome and undertook many jobs for the pope. When Giuliano de’ Medici, da Vinci’s patron, died in 1516 he was offered a job by the king of France as the Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect of the King. Francis I was a very generous patron and gave Leonardo da Vinci a stipend and a manor house. Leonardo da Vinci sadly died on May 2, 1519 in Cloux, France.   

Why Leonardo da Vinci?

                I chose Leonardo da Vinci for my power of one project because his major influence to the world in so many different ways. When you think of da Vinci, you think of a man who did everything. He dissected bodies, painted masterpieces, and designed numerous revolutionary inventions. I think it was the conspiracies and secrets that surround da Vinci that was another reason why I got drawn to him.

The Renaissance

               The sixty seven years, from 1452-1519, that Leonardo was alive, were in the middle of the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a period in Italy of great creativity and also of change in many areas of life. Political, social, economic, and cultural changes were a few of these areas. Another one of the giant changes was in the way people viewed themselves and the world around them. The reason the Renaissance took place in Italy is because of the recovery of Greek and Roman classical literature by Italian scholars. A major aspect of the Italian Renaissance was an intellectual movement called Humanism. Humanists focused on logical and worldly subject rather than religious issues. The basic belief in Humanism was that education should stimulate the person’s creativity, almost exactly like Humanities, the subject taught by both the Greeks and Romans in their school. During the Renaissance art became very realistic. Painters developed new techniques such as perspective which allowed objects to appear 3-dimensional, and shading which made objects look rounded. The Renaissance was an era of great creative growth. It permanently impacted Italy and the rest of the world with its art and ways of thinking.  

Basic Argument

               Leonardo da Vinci, The Renaissance man, affected the world in so many different ways. Leonardo affected the economics of today with his documents and pieces of artwork. For instance, in 1996 Bill Gates bought one of Leonardo’s diaries, which he named Codex Leicester, for 30.8 million dollars. In technology he developed many inventions such as a tank, and even a submarine. He was also the first inventor to try and invent a way to fly. In government Leonardo was a major influence to the rulers. He was a painter for the Medici family who ruled Florence, he was commissioned by the pope, and was the Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect for king Francis I of France. While in those positions he probably had a major influence on those people. Finally in Culture he influenced the art of his time and also influenced the scientific ways of thinking.

Institute and Museum of the History of Science. Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci, 1452 - Amboise, 1519). Web. 3 Nov. 2009. < http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/genscheda.asp?appl=LIR&xsl=slideshow&lingua=ENG&chiave=101000 >

Museum of Science. Web. 3 Nov.2009< http://www.mos.org/LEONARDO/bio.html>

Waggonner, Ben. Leonardo da Vinci. UCA, Jan. 3 1996.Web. 3 Nov. 2009< http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/vinci.html>