Leonardo da Vinci designed a robot.

They hadn’t yet invented the electric motor or the computer back in the 15th century, so Leonardo’s robot was rather basic, but still pretty cool. It was a suit of armor rigged with pulleys and cables to move around. It could sit, stand, move its arms, and even raise its visor. Da Vinci first demonstrated his robot in public in 1495, and had intended it for combat use. The designs were lost for centuries afterward, only to be rediscovered in the 1950s. Since then, the robot has been recreated by following the original instructions, and it actually works!
(source)