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Leif Erikson
Norse explorer
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External Websites
- Ancient Origins - Years Before Columbus: Leif Erikson, His Life and His Voyage of Adventure to the New World
- The Canadian Encyclopedia - Biography of Leif Eriksson
- World History Encyclopedia - Leif Erikson
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography - Biography of Leifr Eiriksson
- Official Site of Leif Erikson International Foundation
- The Mariners' Museum and Park - The Ages of Exploration - Biography of Leif Ericsson
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Also known as: Leif Ericson, Leif Eriksson, Leif the Lucky, Leifr Eiríksson
Leif Erikson, Erikson also spelled Eriksson, Ericson, or Eiriksson, Old Norse Leifr Eiríksson, byname Leif the Lucky, (flourished 11th century), 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. The second of the three sons of Erik the Red, the first colonizer of Greenland, Leif sailed from Greenland to Norway shortly before 1000 to serve among the ...(100 of 342 words)