20 RENAISSANCE INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD - SCIENCE - 2025

The inventions of the Renaissance and their importance are of such magnitude that we are rarely aware of how life evolved. Things as basic as photocopies on paper or the pocket watch have their origin in this prolific stage of history.

And it is that new philosophical conceptions, together with scientific discoveries, allowed man to evolve and thus start Modern History. Inventors such as Leonardo da Vinci lived between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, man discovered America and all the sciences developed in a dizzying way.

You may also be interested in these inventions of Leonardo da Vinci.

20 magnificent inventions of the Renaissance

1- Modern printing

One of the most important inventions of the time, which allowed knowledge to be massively reproduced, is the modern printing press. It was the German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg who invented the printing press, which allowed him to print the 42-line Bible. This copy of the Bible gets its name from the number of lines printed on each page.

At that time, the woodcut technique was used to print. This printing technique had many limitations. The use of tablets was necessary, which wore out quickly and did not allow many copies to be printed quickly.

The machine invented by Gutenberg is actually an adaptation of the presses used to squeeze juice from grapes. The modern printing press allowed book production in Europe to grow exponentially.

2- Newspapers

Thanks to the invention of the printing press and the increasing demand for information among the population, the newspaper was invented. Before the printing press, there were already informative pamphlets that were written by hand and distributed among the people, but the printing press allowed the newspaper to become a daily or weekly and massively produced the number of copies that were produced.

The German Johann Carolus was the first to print his newspaper Relation in 1605, then they begin to print the newspaper Avisa Relation oder Zeitung also in the Holy Roman Empire.

3- Thermoscope

Another great inventor of the time was Galileo Galilei. This versatile scientist made contributions to astronomy, physics, and other sciences. He is credited with creating the first thermoscope, a device that could differentiate between hot and cold temperature changes, although it was unable to indicate the specific temperature.

Later, Galileo's students at the Academia de Cimento created the first thermometer that they named in honor of their teacher. Galileo also improved the telescope and was the first to use it to observe the stars.

It is not known for sure who invented the telescope. It is said that it could have been Hans Lippershey, a German lens manufacturer, or Juan Roget, a French manufacturer of spectacles who lived in Catalonia.

4- Military geometric compass

Galilei also invented the military geometric compass, which consists of two arms with graduation scales that allowed different mathematical operations to be carried out. Galilei patented this invention and produced it massively.

Its commercial success was due to the fact that the inventor gave this instrument to important personalities of the time and also gave open courses on how to use it. Galileo dedicated himself to astronomical observations and discovered several stellar bodies, including the moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

5- Microscope

In 1590, Zacharias Janssen invented the microscope and it is also considered that he may have been linked to the invention of the telescope. He was a neighbor of Hans Lippershey and was also a manufacturer of lenses.

Although the invention of the telescope is still confused, the microscope is said to have been invented by Janssen alone or with the help of his father. His microscope was 9x magnification and Janssen designed it to be used by people with serious vision problems.

6- Slide rule

Although Galileo Galilei had already described it, it is considered that it was John Napier in 1614, who invented the slide rule.

This instrument, which has different measurement scales, was used as an analog calculator to perform different mathematical operations. Thanks to the slide rule, multiplication and division by addition and subtraction were possible.

7- Jacob's rod

In astronomy, Jacob's rod or ballastella is an instrument that allows the height of celestial bodies to be measured. It is considered that it was devised by Levi ben Gerson or Jacob ben Makir. During the Renaissance, this instrument played an important role in the development of astronomy.

The Dutch astronomer Metius (Adriaan Adriaanszoon) used it to measure the position of the stars. The ballastella was improved by the German mathematician Gemma Frisius. At the beginning of the 18th century, thanks to the appearance of other instruments, Jacob's rod became obsolete.

8- Davis Quadrant

It is not surprising that navigation was one of the most successful activities in the Renaissance era as many instruments were invented and improved to orient oneself at sea.

For example, the backstaff or Davis quadrant, invented by the English navigator John Davis and described in his book Seaman's secrets in 1594, replaced the quadrant, the astrolabe and Jacob's rod as an instrument to measure the height of the celestial bodies in the horizon and thus determine the latitude.

9- Dry dock

Another great step for navigation was the construction of the first dry dock by Henry VII in 1495. A dry dock or careening, is a port facility where ships are put out of the water to repair the case, which is also known as work alive or hull.

Although this technology was not invented by the English, as it had been known since Hellenism, they were the first to put it into practice after centuries of absence.

10- Astrolabe

The navigation of the time was strengthened thanks to the use of the marine astrolabe. Although it is not known with certainty who invented it, it is attributed to the Mallorcan astronomer Ramón Llull.

It was not until the Renaissance period that the use of this invention was described by the Spanish Martín Cortés de Albacar in 1551 in his book Arte de Navegar. Also in the Age of Discovery, it was used by Vasco de Gama, Bartholomew Diaz and other sailors.

11- Compass

The Chinese and the compass also helped the Europeans make their great discoveries. The compass arrived in Europe in the Renaissance.

Already the Chinese and the Arabs used it to orient themselves. At first the magnetized needles floated in vessels filled with water and showed north, but over time this invention was improved and the "dry compass" was developed.

Some claim that the Italian Flavio Gioja was the inventor of the dry compass, which is nothing more than a needle on an axis inside a box. This box is called bússola, hence the name compass was formed.

The first mention in Chinese historical sources of the compass dates from 1086. The author Shen Kuo in the "Dream Treasure Essay" described in detail the elements of the compass.

12- Arquebus

At the end of the 14th century the arquebus was invented. It is not known for sure if it was invented in Spain or in Germany, the truth is that already in the 1420s, during the Hussite Wars (1419-1434) this weapon was used.

At the end of the 15th century, the arquebus was a mandatory part of any European or Asian army. The etymology of the word arquebus suggests that it comes from the Arabic word Al Caduz, which could confirm its origin from Spain.

Already in the 16th century, the arquebus was replaced by the musket. Unlike the arquebus, the barrel of the musket is up to a meter and a half long. At first it was a very heavy weapon and it was necessary to support it on a fork, which made it difficult for the troops to move.

For this reason, with each new model the musket evolved and became lighter. The etymology of the word suggests that it comes from the French mousquette or the Italian moscetto.

This could help determine its origin. At the end of the Renaissance era, the grenade musket was invented, which worked with a wheel key mechanism.

13- Connecting rod and crank

Two important inventions that contributed to the development of the mechanism, as well as the wheel, are the connecting rod and the crank. Nobody knows when these important elements, present in any mechanism, were invented.

Inventors of the time are credited with having described the joint operation of these two elements, which are capable of converting effort into movement.

The Italian engineer Agostino Ramelli in his work Le diverse et artificiose machine by Capitano Agostino Ramelli describes its operation. It is also interesting to note that in this book there are more than 95 different machine designs.

Also the German engineer Georg Andreas Böckler in his treatises Architectura Curiosa Nova and Theatrum Machinarum Novum describes the joint operation of these elements.

14- Berbiquí

The berbiquí, an important tool in cabinetmaking and carpentry, was invented in the 15th century. Since then, large braces were built in Europe, which were driven by water with a gear system and were used to drill large wooden logs. The first such specimen is considered to have arisen in the County of Flanders.

15- Pocket watch

During the Renaissance period, man took over time. Although the clock already existed, by the fifteenth century, clocks in the main towers of many European cities were appearing.

In addition, the clock began to mark the minutes and seconds and the pocket watch was invented. The rapid development of the clock at the time is due to a new paradigm and conception of time.

The pocket watch was invented in France, being possible thanks to the fact that the spring was included in its mechanism. By the 16th century, pocket watches were no longer rare and their price dropped considerably.

The most famous pocket watches of the time were called Nuremberg Eggs, which were invented by the German Peter Henlein.

16- Spring

The pocket watch could not be possible without the creation of the spring. The first springs appeared in the 15th century and their development is closely linked to the watch industry.

Although engineers already used the spring, it was not until 1676 when Robert Hooke explained Hooke's Law, which explains that the force of a spring is proportional to its extension.

17- Bicycle

Despite the fact that many of his inventions were not built, Leonardo da Vinci is considered the most important inventor of the Renaissance.

Among the inventions in the work Codez Atlanticus is a drawing of the bicycle with all the attributes of any current bicycle: wheels, drive chain and seat. These drawings are kept in the Ambrosiana library in Milan.

18- Helicopter

Da Vinci also drew the first helicopter prototype. The aerial screw was designed under the premise that just as a screw rises upwards, likewise a body would rise when driven by a screw.

Apparently one of Da Vinci's dreams was that man could fly as he also designed a flying machine inspired by the physiognomy of bats.

19- Diving Bell

Another of the inventor's dreams was aquatic exploration. For this he designed a model of a diving suit. This diving suit had to be made of leather and the air tube of reeds.

In addition, its design even found a bag to urinate. On the other hand, Leonardo da Vinci also developed the first car model.

The self-propelled vehicle of this inventor had to be made of wood and would move thanks to the force generated by the interplay of several toothed wheels, that is, mechanisms.

20- Folding bridge

Da Vinci designed many weapons and artifacts intended to defend his city from attackers and to be used in warfare.

Most important of all is the folding bridge that would allow the city's troops to retreat and save themselves from attack. He also developed models of tanks, attack chariots, cannons, catapults, and others.