1452: Birth of Leonardo da Vinci, the universal genius of the Italian Renaissance (died 1519). A painter, engineer, and anatomist, he anticipated modern technologies such as human flight through his sketches, while also describing the Moon's "earthshine" an entire century ahead of his time.

1707: Leonhard Euler is born in Basel. An indefatigable mind who continued to publish even after losing his sight, he rewrote the language of mathematics and mechanics, providing Enlightenment astronomers with the essential tools to translate the movements of the stars into perfect equations.

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