What makes a renaissance man?

Leonardo Da Vinci makes a renaissance man because he affected the world, spread his ideas, and made new discoveries. During the renaissance he focused on these topics such as painting, architecture, the elements of mechanics, and human anatomy. He came up with brilliant ideas and new discoveries in each topic. He spread his ideas throughout the world because he wrote all of his work on a notebook so that when someone finds it he/she can gain knowledge. He made new discoveries when dissecting corpses and animals because he then knew what the inside of a human and animal looked like and this affected his paintings too. After his discoveries, people are then able to paint true art with texture, correct outlines of a human body, etc. The Mona Lisa became one of the famous paintings in the world because he was able to paint it with his skills and knowledge. People then followed his steps but was never as good as him. These are the reasons why Leonardo Da Vinci became a renaissance man.

James Cook

Captain James Cook (1728 - 1779)

Cook was an 18th century explorer and navigator whose achievements in mapping the Pacific, New Zealand and Australia radically changed western perceptions of world geography. As one of the very few men in the 18th century navy to rise through the ranks, Cook was particularly sympathetic to the needs of ordinary sailors.
James Cook was born on 27 October 1728 in a small village near Middlesbrough in Yorkshire. His father was a farm worker. At the age of 17, Cook moved to the coast, settling in Whitby and finding work with a coal merchant. In 1755, Cook enlisted in the Royal Navy, serving in North America where he learnt to survey and chart coastal waters.
In 1769 the planet Venus was due to pass in front of the Sun, a rare event visible only in the southern hemisphere. The British government decided to send an expedition to observe the phenomenon. A more secret motive was to search for the fabled southern continent. Cook was chosen as commander of the Whitby-built HMS Endeavour. Those on board included astronomer Charles Green and botanist Joseph Banks.
Endeavour arrived in Tahiti in April 1769 where Green was able to observe the transit of Venus. Endeavour continued on to New Zealand, and then sailed along the length of Australia's eastern coast, which had never before been seen by Europeans. Cook claimed it for Britain and named it New South Wales. Cook and his crew then returned home, arriving in July 1771.
In 1772, not satisfied by his previous exploits, Cook set out on a second voyage to look for the southern continent. His two ships sailed close to the Antarctic coast but were forced to turn back by the cold. They then visited New Zealand and Tahiti, returning to England in 1775.
Cook's third voyage was to find the North-West passage that was believed to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Unable to find the fabled route, Cook took his two ships south and explored the island of Hawaii. Relations with the islanders were soured after the theft of a ship's boat. On 14 February Cook tried to take the local leader hostage. There was a scuffle and Cook was stabbed and killed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/cook_captain_james.shtml

James Cook chose to take command of the HMS Endeavour to explore new lands through hard work and determination. He started off as a farm labour’s son and continued until he joined the navy. Because of his determination, he worked hard and "rose through the ranks", until he was at the point where he was chosen as a commander of the HMS Endeavour. He was sent out to explore new land in the southern continent that was yet undiscovered by the Europeans. He made three voyages; on the first voyage they successively landed in Tahiti, second they came close to arriving at Antarctica but the sea was too icy for the Endeavour to handle, and lastly on his third voyage, James Cook wanted to find the North-West passage that could get him through the Arctic Ocean. However they landed on the coast of Hawaii. Native people in Hawaii took the rowboat that James Cook and his crew brought up to shore so the crew tried to get it back, but James Cook was killed trying. Because James Cook was determined, he was able to achieve his goal to explore new land for the Europeans.