Leif Erikson

explorer · viking · history

Viking adventurer. Leif Erikson was a Norse explorer from Iceland who lived around 1,000 years ago. He was the son of Erik the Red, who founded a settlement in Greenland.

Sailed to Vinland. According to old Norse stories called sagas, Leif traveled to a place he called Vinland, which is believed to be on the coast of North America. This would have been around the year 1000.

Found a settlement. Leif and his crew established a Norse settlement in Vinland where they lived for a while. Archaeologists think this settlement might be the ruins of L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada.

The Lucky explorer. Leif was called Leif the Lucky, possibly because he survived dangerous ocean voyages and discovered new lands. He may have been the first European to set foot on continental America, centuries before Columbus arrived.

History from sagas. Much of what we know about Leif comes from ancient Icelandic sagas, which are written stories passed down through generations. These stories describe his adventures across the Atlantic Ocean.