A statue of Leif Eriksson near the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul dedicated on October 9, 1949.

Leif Erikson (Old Norse: Leifr Eiríksson; modern Icelandic: Leifur Eiríksson; modern Norwegian: Leiv Eiriksson) (c. 980 – c. 1020) was an Icelandic explorer, and the first European known to have discovered North America—more specifically, the region that would become Newfoundland and, by later extension, Canada. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1536x1852, 487 KB) en:Viking statue (Leif Erikson?) near the en:Minnesota State Capitol. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1536x1852, 487 KB) en:Viking statue (Leif Erikson?) near the en:Minnesota State Capitol. ... The Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul The Minnesota State Capitol is located in Minnesotas capital city, Saint Paul, and houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Governor. ... State capitol building in Saint Paul Saint Paul is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Minnesota in the United States of America. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (283rd in leap years). ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... This is the approximate extent of Old Norse and related languages in the early 10th century. ... Look up Circa on Wiktionary, the free dictionary The Latin word circa, literally meaning about, is often used to describe various dates (often birth and death dates) that are uncertain. ... Events Births Emperor Ichijo of Japan Humbert I of Savoy Avicenna Godiva, Countess of Mercia Deaths Categories: 980 ... Events Hospice built in Jerusalem by Knights Hospitaller City of Saint-Germain-en-Laye founded Third Italian campaign of Henry II of Germany Canute the Great codifies the laws of England Births Harold II of England (approximate) Empress Agnes of Poitou, regent of the Holy Roman Empire (d. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Newfoundland (French: Terre-Neuve; Irish: Talamh an Éisc; Latin: Terra Nova) is a large island off the northeast coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

A statue of Leifur outside Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was a gift from the United States government.

It is said to this day that Leif was born around 980 (in Iceland) and was the second son of Erik the Red (Old Norse: Eiríkr rauði), a Norwegian-Icelandic outlaw, himself the son of another Norwegian outlaw, Þorvaldr Ásvaldsson. Leif's mother was Þjóðhildr. Erik had started two Norse colonies, the Western Settlement and the Eastern Settlement, in Greenland, which he had named. As far as it is known, Leif Ericson had two brothers, Þorvaldr and Þorsteinn, and one sister, Freydís. Leif married a woman by the name of Þórgunnr, and they had one son, Þorkell Leifsson. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2000x3008, 1199 KB) Leifr Eiríksson statue in Reykjavík, Iceland Photo: Johannes Jansson/norden. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2000x3008, 1199 KB) Leifr Eiríksson statue in Reykjavík, Iceland Photo: Johannes Jansson/norden. ... Hallgrímskirkja The Hallgrímskirkja (literally, the church of Hallgrímur) is a church in Reykjavík, Iceland. ... Reykjavík (pronounced (♫) in Icelandic) is the capital of Iceland, its largest city and the worlds most northern national capital. ... Events Births Emperor Ichijo of Japan Humbert I of Savoy Avicenna Godiva, Countess of Mercia Deaths Categories: 980 ... Erik the Red (950–1003; Old Norse: Eiríkr rauði; Norwegian; Eirik Raude; sometimes Eric the Red), so-called because of his red hair and beard (perhaps even because of his bad temper), was the founder of the first Nordic settlement in Greenland. ... This is the approximate extent of Old Norse and related languages in the early 10th century. ... Butch Cassidy, a famous Western American outlaw An outlaw, a person living the lifestyle of outlawry, meaning literally outside of the law. ... Þorvaldr Ásvaldsson was the father of the discoverer of Greenland, Eiríkr Rauði (Erik the Red) and grandfather of Leifr Eiríksson, who visited North America centuries before Christopher Columbus. ... Thorvald Eriksson (old Icelandic: Þorvald Eiríksson) was the son of Erik the Red and brother of Leif Ericson. ... Freydís Eiríksdóttir was a Viking woman who sailed to Vínland in the early 11th century. ... Son of legendary Norse explorer, Leif Ericson, Thorkell Leifsson was the heir to the throne of Greenland. ...

During a stay in Norway, Leif was converted to Christianity, like many Norse around that time. He also went to Norway to serve the King of Norway, Olaf Tryggvason. When he returned to Greenland, he bought the boat of Bjarni Herjólfsson, and set out to explore the land that Bjarni had found, today known as North America. Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recounted in the New Testament. ... This article is a list of rulers of Norway up until the present, including: The Norwegian kingdom (with the Faroe Islands) The Union with Iceland and Greenland (1262-1814) The Norwegian kingdom (with Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands 1262-1814) The Union of Sweden and Norway (1319-1343) The... Olaf Tryggvason has been elected king, a painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo Olaf Tryggvason (969–September 9? 1000) (Old Norse: Óláfr Tryggvason, Norwegian: Olav Tryggvason) was son of Tryggve Olafsson, king of Viken (Vingulmark and Ranrike), and great-grandson of Harald Fairhair. ... Bjarni Herjólfsson was a norse explorer, believed to be the first European to view mainland North America. ...

The Saga of the Greenlanders tells that Leif set out around 1000 to follow Bjarni's circular route with 35 crew members, but in the opposite direction.^[1] The first land he met was covered with flat rock slabs (Old Norse: hellur). He therefore called it Helluland ("Land of the Flat Stones"), probably the present day Baffin Island. Next he came to a land that was flat and wooded, with white sandy beaches, which he called Markland ("Wood-land"), usually assumed to have been Labrador. Grœnlendinga saga or the Saga of the Greenlanders is an Icelandic saga. ... // Events World Population 300 million. ... Helluland is the name given to one of the three lands discovered by Leif Eriksson sometime around 1000 CE on the North Atlantic coast of North America. ... Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. ... Markland is the name given to an area of unknown location, named by Leif Ericson when visiting North America. ... This article is about the region in Canada. ...

When Leif and his crew left Markland and found land again, they landed and built some houses. They found the land pleasant: there were plenty of salmon in the river, and the climate was mild, with little frost in the winter, and green grass year-round. They remained at this place over the winter. The sagas mention that one of Leif's men, Tyrkir, possibly a German warrior, found grapes, and that Leif named the country Vínland after them. The Chinook or King Salmon is the largest salmon in North America and can grow up to 58 long and 125 pounds. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Vinland was the name given to a part of North America by the Icelandic Norseman Leifur Eiríksson, about the year (AD)1000. ...

On the return voyage, Leif rescued an Icelandic castaway named Þórir and his crew — an incident that earned Leif the nickname 'Leif the Lucky' (Old Norse: Leifr hinn heppni). A nickname is a short, clever, cute, derogatory, or otherwise substitute name for a person or things real name (for example, Tom is short for Thomas). ...

Research done in the 1950s and 1960s by explorer Helge Ingstad and his wife, archaeologist Anne Stine, strongly suggests that the settlement of Leif Ericson and his party in Vínland was actually the tip of Newfoundland later known as L'Anse aux Meadows. The 1950s were a decade that spanned the years 1951 through 1960. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Helge Marcus Ingstad (December 30, 1899 – March 29, 2001) was a Norwegian explorer. ... Dr. Anne Stine Ingstad (1918 – 1997) was a Norwegian archaeologist who, along with her husband Dr. Helge Ingstad, discovered the remains of a Viking settlement at LAnse aux Meadows in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1960. ... Viking colonisation site at LAnse-aux-Meadows Viking colonisation site at LAnse-aux-Meadows LAnse aux Meadows (from the French LAnse-aux-Méduses (Jellyfish Cove)) is a site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, where the remains...

In 1964, President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson declared October 9 to be "Leif Erikson Day" in the United States. 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... LBJ redirects here. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (283rd in leap years). ... A statue of Leif Erikson near the Minnesota State Capitol in St. ...

Map

Leif Erikson is also the title of a song by Indie-rock group Interpol. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (947x648, 254 KB)made by me; earth pic by NASA, data from Image:Viking Age. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (947x648, 254 KB)made by me; earth pic by NASA, data from Image:Viking Age. ...

Notes

1. ^ Another saga, The Saga of Eric the Red, relates that it was actually Leif who discovered the American mainland while returning from Norway to Greenland in 1000 or thereabouts; but the saga does not mention any attempts to settle there. However, the Saga of the Greenlanders is considered to be the more reliable of the two.

The Saga of Eric the Red is a saga about Eric the Red. ... // Events World Population 300 million. ...

See also

• St. Brendan
• Olaf the Black

St. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Leifr Eiríksson

• A reconstructed portrait of Leif Ericsson – Based on historical sources, in a contemporary style; from Reportret: gallery of reconstructed portraits
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Leif Ericson Homepage – From the Great Norwegians webpages, hosted by Metropolitan News Company's website MNC Online.

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...