| 1452 | Born at Vinci, the illegitimate son of a notary and a peasant. |
| 1469 | Apprenticed to the atelier of the Florentine painter and sculptor Verrocchio. |
| 1472 | Qualification as a "master painter" and completion of his first picture: “The Annunciation" |
| 1481 | First substantial commission for an "Adoration of the Three Wise Men" altarpiece for a monastery near Florence. |
| 1482 | Moves from Florence to Milan. |
| 1494 | Duke Ludovico Sforza, seignior of Milan, commissions the "Last Supper" for the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. |
| 1499 | Returns to Florence following the French occupation of Milan and the deposition of Ludovico. |
| 1500 | Completion of the drawing for the "Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist" (never finished). |
| 1503 | Begins work on the "Mona Lisa" (La Gioconda). |
| 1506 | Returns to Milan. |
| 1513 | Owing to the growing uncertainty of the state of affairs in Milan, goes to Rome in the hope of obtaining a commission or two. |
| 1516 | Demoralised by the lack of commissions and encouraged by Francis I, moves to France for good. |
| 1519 | Dies aged 67 in the manor house of Cloux beside the royal château at Amboise in the Valley of the Loire. |
