Leif Erikson
Leif Erikson, ''Erikson'' is the spelling widely used and recognized by many others. ;
Icelandic: ;
Norwegian: ''Leiv Eiriksson'';
Swedish: ''Leif Eriksson'';
Danish: ''Leif Eriksen''}} also known as
Leif the Lucky (), was a
Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental
America, approximately half a millennium before
Christopher Columbus. According to the
sagas of Icelanders, he established a
Norse settlement at
Vinland, which is usually interpreted as being coastal North America. There is ongoing speculation that the settlement made by Leif and his crew corresponds to the remains of a Norse settlement found in
Newfoundland, Canada, called
L'Anse aux Meadows, which was occupied approximately 1,000 years ago.
Leif's place of birth is unknown, although it is assumed to have been in
Iceland. His father,
Erik the Red, founded the first
Norse settlement in Greenland, where Leif was later raised. Following his voyage to Vinland and the subsequent death of his father, Leif became chief of the Greenland settlement. He had two known sons: Thorgils, born in the
Hebrides; and Thorkell, who succeeded him as Greenland's chieftain.
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