Leif Erikson

"Leif Ericson" redirects here. For other uses, see Leif Ericson (disambiguation).

This is a Norse name. The last name is a patronymic, not a family name; this person is properly referred to by the given name Leif.

Leif Erikson
Modern artistic rendering of Leif Erikson in Leif Erikson Park, Duluth, Minnesota
Bornc. 970s[1]
Icelandic Commonwealth
Diedc. 1018 to 1025[1]
Greenland
NationalityNorse: Icelandic
OccupationExplorer
Known forFirst European in Vinland (part of North America; probably Newfoundland)
PartnerThorgunna (c. 999)
Children2
Parent(s)Erik the Red (father)
Þjóðhildur (mother)
RelativesThorvald, Thorstein, and Freydís (siblings)

Leif Erikson,[note 1] also known as Leif the Lucky (c. 970s – c. 1018 to 1025),[1] 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.[7][8] 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,[9] although it is assumed to have been in Iceland.[10][11][12] 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.

  1. ^ a b c "Leif Eriksson". The Canadian Encyclopedia. 12 October 2018. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  2. ^ Leander, Kristine (2008). Norwegian Seattle. Arcadia Publishing. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-7385-5960-5. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Turning over a new Leif". Leif Erikson International Foundation. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  4. ^ Leif Erikson Issue. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  5. ^ "History". Sons of Norway. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  6. ^ Norwegian-American Studies, Volumes 1–3. Norwegian-American Historical Association. 1926. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Leif Erikson (11th century)". BBC. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  8. ^ "Why Do We Celebrate Columbus Day and Not Leif Erikson Day?". National Geographic. 11 October 2015. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  9. ^ Leiv Eriksson Archived 5 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Norsk biografisk leksikon
  10. ^ Sverrir Jakobsson (14 July 2001). "Shouldn't Leifr Eiríksson ('Leif the Lucky') really be viewed as a Greenlander with family roots in Iceland and Norway?". Translated by Nicholas Jones, 25 November 2005. The Icelandic Web of Science. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  11. ^ Leif Eriksson Archived 3 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine – Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  12. ^ "Congressional Record, V. 145, Pt. 21, November 17, 1999 to December 3, 1999". Government Printing Office. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2020 – via Google Books.


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