Assuming you’ve got your ego in check, it should be easy to become a modern Renaissance Man relatively quickly.
To help you out on this quest, I’ve assembled some of the best Renaissance Man examples I could find after years of studying this topic.
More than studying the concept, I’ve been digging deep into my own polymathic personality traits to better succeed.
Knowledge of who you are and how you already tick is very important.
This is because without some knowledge of both who you are currently and who you want to become, it can be impossible to bridge the gap.
And knowledge truly is all that’s standing in the way between you and the goal of being a Renaissance Man.
Ready to succeed as the architect of your dreams?
Let’s get started!
What Is A Renaissance Man?
A Renaissance Man, both in the past and present, is someone:
- Cultured
- Educated with a broad knowledge base
- Proficient in a wide variety of skillsets
- Committed to deliberate practice as part of lifelong learning
Although we use the term “Renaissance,” people have displayed these characteristics for a much longer period of time. Aristotle, for example, is a much earlier example.
The reason we have named it after the Renaissance period is complex. Briefly, it has a lot to do with the explosion of technical skill seen in the arts due to combining multiple fields of interest.
For example, Michelangelo studied anatomy in detail. Da Vinci developed an astonishing understanding of math to the point of designing proto-aircraft.
As Dr. Justin Sledge has explained, the preceding medieval era focused heavily on education. The emphasis on learning at educational centers only grew as books became increasingly available.
As Frances Yates shows in The Art of Memory, as the printing press made it possible for books to spread across Europe and other parts of the world at a faster pace, memory improvement books also reached many more people than ever before. As a result, people not only had more access to information. They also retained more information.
10 Examples Of Renaissance Men In History
History is packed with examples of Renaissance Men and also women. Let’s have a look at a few key examples and why they were so successful.
One: Leonardo da Vinci
According to Francesca Fiorani in The Shadow Drawing: How Science Taught Leonardo How to Paint, Da Vinci was fascinated in technology.
But not merely with the technology of his times. He also embraced the revival of older technologies that refreshed older ways of thinking about perspective.
At the same time, Da Vinci embraced advances in dissection during his time to made massive advancements in figure painting. Combined, these are some of the explanations for why pieces like the Mona Lisa were successful during their time and remain valuable.
Two: Giordano Bruno
Although controversial, Giordano Bruno educated himself as a polymathic autodidact in fields as diverse as astronomy, math and an early version of memory science.
Although he faced persecution and was ultimately executed, his example lives on. His pro-science and pro-critical thinking response to the Inquisition may have served the cautionary note our next Renaissance Man needed to keep safe during equally heated times.
Three: Galileo
Like Bruno, Galileo lived in a time of science denial.
Yet, he was able to hold to his wits, largely thanks to the mental strength being a polymath provides.
As Mario Livio points out Galileo and the Science Deniers, Galileo did not act like he lived in a vacuum. He studied widely, communicated with as many people as possible and used stories to get his points across.
Four: Benjamin Franklin
Sometimes called “America’s Renaissance Man,” Benjamin Franklin started working in a print shop at an early age. This is likely why he started reading and writing so prolifically at such an early age.
He traveled widely, including overseas. Later, he owned his own newspaper and used his considerable knowledge to make it a success.
Perhaps most famously, he served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and helped in the mission to abolish slavery. He was also a pivotal figure in observing, describing and promoting the development of electricity, something we still benefit from to this day.
Five: Barbara Longhi
Although people correctly point out that it could not have been easy to be female during the Renaissance, there are women who displayed tremendous learning and skills with their craft.
Barbara Longhi is one of them. Noted for her technical versatility, she was also intellectually curious and devoted to Humanism.
Although we don’t know much about her, those characteristics are more than enough for us to acknowledge her skills in multiple areas.
Six: Isabella d’Este
More is known about Isabella d’Este. As a patron of the arts, and fashion trendsetter during her time, she displayed the kind of liberal attitudes that can only come from a broad education.
At age forty-five, she became a head of state following the death of her husband. She ruled as the regent of Mantua during a troubled era and historians have said she displayed more competence than her husband. Her handling of the military is considered superior.
As noted, her understanding of art led to not only fantastic paintings. she also supported musicians and architects to great effect. Her support of architects is particularly interesting because she could not actually afford to have them create the palaces they designed. That’s pure devotion.
2 Renaissance Men Examples In Literature And Philosophy
So far we’ve looked at examples of Renaissance Men in the categories of arts, politics and science.
We also see these characteristics in philosophy and literature. Here are some key examples.
Seven: Lady Margaret Lucas Cavendish
Lady Margaret Lucas Cavendish is known primarily as a philosopher. She discussed the physical realities of nature and panpsychism, amongst other philosophical questions.
But she also excelled in poetry, fiction and the theatrical arts. When it comes to her social and political philosophy, it’s fair to see the early seeds of psychology in her work as well.
Eight: Michel de Montaigne
Montaigne is sometimes considered the inventor of the essay.
Whether that is true or not, one of his key contributions boils down to thinking through skepticism and relativism.
To do this, he engaged in an early form of what we would not call sociology. He noticed that a lot of people say they cannot change themselves due to their “nature.” In fact, he argued, they are trained by social conventions to think that way.
Montaigne ultimately thought it was important to read widely and continue considering different ideas. He was a great promotor of viewpoint diversity.
Modern Day Renaissance Man Examples in Various Fields
Now that we’ve looked at a bunch of historical examples, you might be wondering who counts as a Renaissance Man in our times.
Personally, I don’t think examples like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs or the like make much sense. Although they might be skilled in a variety of areas, not enough time has passed to track the impact of their contributions beyond their lives.
Given Apple’s recent need to apologize for crushing a piano and other treasured tools and objects of the human experience, it’s entirely possible that their reputation gets so tarnished that Steve Jobs is quickly forgotten.
Think about it. Do you know who founded Kodak?
Kudos if you do, but don’t feel bad if you don’t. George Eastman was its founder, and like Jobs, was more entrepreneur than Renaissance Man. They both also held tight control over their public image and their exact contributions are up for debate.
That said, if I were going to gesture at who is more likely to stand the test of time, here are a few people I believe fit the bill.
Nine: Lynne Kelly
As the author of The Memory Code and Memory Craft, Lynne Kelly is skilled as an author, scientist and historian.
She’s also talented at delivering impactful speeches from memory.
Ten: Yo-Yo Ma
Known primarily as a musician, Yo-Yo Ma is far more than that.
Rather than rest on his laurels, Ma has developed fluency in multiple languages and contributed to important television shows like Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.
He also founded the Silk Road non-profit organization for promoting multicultural exchange and allowing a diversity of ideas to flow. As we’ve seen in the case of Isabella d’Este, being a patron of the arts requires knowledge in order to create epic results. My guess is that Yo-Ya Ma’s impact will stand the test of time just as long as hers, if not longer.
Renaissance Man Examples in Films
Although it’s questionable to what extent we should take our inspiration from fictional examples of Renaissance Men, many of us clearly do.
Let’s look at some examples of some characters that people favor.
Sherlock Holmes
The detective Sherlock Holmes is well known for his prodigious memory – which is based on how he used Memory Palaces.
He knew a variety of scientific fields well and practiced philosophical thinking. Some people believe it’s possible to reverse engineer his mind and think like Sherlock yourself.
One of my friends has demonstrated how this is possible to substantial acclaim. His name is Ben Cardall.
Although he’s a bad guy, a genre-similar parallel who also has Renaissance characteristics is Hannibal Lecter.
Iron Man
Perhaps one reason people consider Elon Musk a Renaissance Man comes from the obvious presentation of Tony Stark and his alter ego Iron Man in the recent movie series.
It certainly is the case that Tony Stark excels in technology, business and to a certain extent, ethics. His role as a moral guide shows up most strongly in the Spider-Man movies where he serves as a mentor.
This provides an interesting portrait of how learning works, because his success is directly linked to the success of his mentee. Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man has all the makings of a future Renaissance Man himself with his interests in science, technology, photography and truth in journalism.
How to Cultivate Renaissance Qualities in Everyday Life
Want to be a Renaissance Man yourself?
Here’s what I suggest you do:
- Commit to lifelong learning as a daily habit
- Practice delayed gratification to avoid dopamine issues
- Develop your curiosity (mind mapping will help)
- Regularly complete critical thinking exercises
- Understand and practice a variety of problem solving models
- Practice brainstorming in intermediate and advanced ways
- Learn to read faster, without sacrificing comprehension
- Master your memory with techniques like the Memory Palace
- Take advantage of learning platforms like MOOCS and join in-person clubs
- Understand the concept of holistic learning and implement on this basis
- Avoid digital amnesia at all costs
Above all, it’s key to take care of your memory and continually develop it. If you’d like help with that, please consider signing up for my free memory improvement course.
It will help you master the same ancient memory techniques most of the people we’ve discussed used to create massive success. Even some of the fictional examples used these techniques, after all.
Beyond that, it’s important to see the theme of science throughout these examples of Renaissance Men.
Even if you don’t want to be a scientist yourself, it’s important to approach life itself scientifically.
In other words, you can’t wait to be sure that various techniques will get you where you need to go. You need to try them, and try them consistently over long periods of time.
The best part? You don’t have to pound your head against the wall by focusing on just one skill or topic area at a time.
You can actually switch between topics in a reasonable way that will create success. It’s called interleaving and I’ll leave you with the suggestion to add it to your skillset as well.
So what do you say?
Are you ready to put the value from these examples into action?
Do so and your personal Renaissance will bloom into existence before your very eyes!
