Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was the first European to land in America, right? Wrong. It was, in fact, the Viking Leif Erikson. He was born in Iceland to Erik the Red and moved to Greenland during his childhood. Erikson’s first important voyage was to Norway. His most very important voyage, though, was the voyage back to Greenland in which he found North America, but at that time named the place “Vinland.” After founding Vinland, he never returned and remained in Greenland. There is even a holiday named after Leif Erikson.
Leif Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky, was born to Erik the Red in Iceland a few years before 1000 A.D. Many say that exploration was in Leif’s blood, because his father was the first founder of Greenland. He explored a lot as a child and more as an adult. He took many different journeys growing up because that is what his father did. On his very first journey he navigated alone was to Norway.
Leif Erikson was twenty four when he went from Greenland to Norway, his very first time navigating and captaining a voyage. The purpose of the voyage was to bring King Olaf gifts. Leif took along a crew of fourteen men. The journey was exceptionally slow. After five days they saw Iceland. Usually sailors saw Iceland in only two days. It took many days to get to Norway, the crew even ended up staying on small islands called the Herbrides. On one of the islands, Leif conceived a son with the Lord of the Island’s daughter. His name was Thorgils and is one of the two sons confirmed to be Leif’s. A few days later Leif and his crew made it to Norway. Upon reaching Norway, King Olaf converted Leif to Christianity and persuaded him to spread the religion in Greenland.
There are two stories about Leif Erikson discovering the New ...

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...but Erikson was the first European to actually discover the New World. Leif never returned after the one time visit. His discovery was great, though. He led a life that many people remember. He was an excellent explorer that discovered the New World.

Works cited

BBC. "Leif Erickson (11th Century)." BBC News. BBC, 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. .

Weitemier, Kevin A. "Leif Erikson." Leif Erikson. N.p., 1997. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. .

A&E Television Networks. "Leif Eriksson Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 1996-2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. .

A&E Televison Networks. "Leif Eriksson." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 1996-2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. .