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Leif Erikson, Norse explorer widely held to have been the first European to reach the shores of North America. The 13th- and 14th-century Icelandic accounts of his life show that he was a member of an early voyage to eastern North America, although he may not have been the first to sight its coast.
- Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson (born c. 1565, England—died after June 22,...
- Henry Hudson
Leif Erikson’s voyage to Newfoundland is a remarkable chapter in the history of maritime exploration. His journey, guided by advanced Viking maritime technology and navigation techniques, showcased the Norse people's extraordinary seafaring skills and their unyielding spirit of adventure.
- Who Was Leif Erikson? Leif’s Origins & Persona
- The Adventures & History of Leif Erikson
- Leif Erikson’s Family
- Leif Erikson’s Legacy
- When and Why Is Leif Erikson Day celebrated?
Erikson was born around 970 CE in Iceland, the son of Erik the Red and his wife Thjodhild (or Thorhild as she is called in Hauksbók). As you may know, Leif’s father Erik was also a renown Viking explorer; discovering and naming Greenland, and founding the first Norse settlement in Greenland in 986 CE. In other words, Leif spent his early childhood ...
By all accounts, Eriksson was an accomplished Viking and a skilled shipbuilder and navigator. He is known to have sailed to Greenland, North America, and possibly even as far as the east coast of modern-day New England, USA. Anyway, the full story goes that Leif set sails from Norway back towards his father’s Greenland, tasked with a mission to Chr...
Leif Erikson’s Father: Erik the Red
Erik Thorvaldsson (a.k.a. Erik the Red) was born in Norway 950 CE, but hrough the misdeeds of his father, the family was banished from Norway to Iceland when Erik was still young. In keeping up with family tradition, Eric was in turn also banished from Iceland after being accused of manslaughter in 982 CE. This time he couldn’t go further west, as there wasn’t really anywhere else to go that people knew of at the time. But according to legend, he sailed westward in search of new land anyway,...
Leif Erikson’s Sons: Thorgils and Thorkell
Before Leif ended up in Norway to fight with Olaf I, his ship from Greenland was driven off course to the Hebrides outside Scotland. During this short stay there, he got romantically involved with a noble Norse woman called Thorgunna, who ended up pregnant. Although he did acknowledge being the father and loved Thorgunna by all accounts, he had little interest in marrying or settling down, and even less so in abducting a woman of noble birth against her family’s will. So he left for Norway as...
Leif Erikson’s Sister: Freydis Eiriksdottir
Leif also had a sister, or possibly half-sister, named Freydis, who was either an unforgiving Viking warrior who single-handedly repelled a horde of natives in Vinland (North America), or a deceiving explorer who murdered her adversaries’ wives with an axe when her soldiers refused to — depending on which sources you want to trust. Either way, Freydis had a lot of influence on her brother’s journeys, and was likely instrumental in their success. So why do we think was she so influential in Le...
According to the tales, Leif and his crew landed on the eastern coast of North America, where they (or other Norsemen) at some point founded a settlement called Vinland (believed to be located at L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland). Archeological evidence supports the existence of a Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows, as researchers have found p...
Leif Erikson Day is celebrated on October 9 (since 1964) in the United States, to celebrate Americans of Nordic origin and the Nordic influences in American culture and development in general, and in honor of Leif Erikson’s discovery and settlement of North America. It is celebrated on October 9 as that’s the day in 1825 the ship Restoration from S...
Jun 13, 2006 · Leif Eriksson was the first European to explore what is now eastern Canada, from the Arctic to New Brunswick, around 1000 CE. He made these voyages nearly five hundred years before Christopher Columbus’s journey across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492.
Aug 2, 2023 · (970-1020) Who Was Leif Eriksson? Born in the 10th century, Norse explorer Leif Eriksson was the second son of Erik the Red, who is credited with settling Greenland. For his part, Eriksson is...
Nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus crossed the ocean blue, a Norse Viking by the name of Leif Eriksson landed on the North American continent. Eriksson is believed to be the first European to have landed on and established a settlement in North America around 1000 CE.
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Jul 14, 2024 · What evidence exists of Leif Erikson’s voyage to North America? And how is Leif Erikson celebrated? In the article below, World History Edu cover the basics of Leif Erikson’s life and his historical significance as an explorer.
