Borders of Time

Explorer · c. 970–c. 1020

Leif Erikson

Norse explorer who reached North America around the year 1000 — five centuries before Columbus.

1 voyage
4 dated stops

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Route data is compiled in chronological order from Wikipedia's voyage articles (CC BY-SA), cross-checked against primary source narratives and historical records. Waypoints mark approximate port, bay, and landfall locations — not survey-grade ship positions — and should be verified against detailed historical charts and logs before being treated as authoritative. Coordinates for remote stops and open-ocean legs are estimated and approximate.

  1. 01 · c. 1000

    Voyage to Vinland

    Norse knarr (ocean-going cargo ship) · 4 stops

    Follow up reports of unknown land seen west of Greenland and bring back timber, which Greenland lacked.

    Leif, son of Erik the Red, sailed west from the Norse settlements in Greenland with about 35 men. He named three lands: Helluland ('flat-stone land'), Markland ('forest land') and Vinland, where the crew wintered before returning with timber. It was the first known European landing in the Americas — nearly 500 years before Columbus. A Norse camp excavated at L'Anse aux Meadows dates to this period; wood there was cut with metal tools in 1021.

    On accuracy: The sagas were written down two centuries after the events. Only the Newfoundland site is archaeologically confirmed; the route between named lands is a reconstruction.

The life

Leif Erikson Statue, Duluth
Sculptor Daniels, John K. 1875-1978 Photo: Sharon Mollerus · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Leif Erikson Statue, Duluth

Leif Erikson Statue, Duluth

Sculptor Daniels, John K. 1875-1978 Photo: Sharon Mollerus · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Hear the biography read aloud
Leif Eriksson Discovers America by Hans Dahl (1849–1937)
Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Leif Eriksson Discovers America by Hans Dahl (1849–1937)

Leif Eriksson Discovers America by Hans Dahl (1849–1937)

Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Leif Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky (c. 970s – c. 1018 to 1025), 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. 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, although it is assumed to have been in Iceland. 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.

Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In pictures

4 images · scroll →
Modern recreation of the Norse site at L'Anse aux Meadows. The site was originally occupied c. 1021 and listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1968
Dylan Kereluk from White Rock, Canada · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Modern recreation of the Norse site at L'Anse aux Meadows. The site was originally occupied c. 1021 and listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1968

Modern recreation of the Norse site at L'Anse aux Meadows. The site was originally occupied c. 1021 and listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1968

Dylan Kereluk from White Rock, Canada · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Discovery of America, a postage stamp from the Faroe Islands which commemorates both Leif Erikson and Christopher Columbus
Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Discovery of America, a postage stamp from the Faroe Islands which commemorates both Leif Erikson and Christopher Columbus

Discovery of America, a postage stamp from the Faroe Islands which commemorates both Leif Erikson and Christopher Columbus

Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Erikson commemorative stamp, issued 9 October 1968, Leif Erikson Day
Bureau of Engraving and Printing: image enlarged, rendered for tone and clarity by… · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Erikson commemorative stamp, issued 9 October 1968, Leif Erikson Day

Erikson commemorative stamp, issued 9 October 1968, Leif Erikson Day

Bureau of Engraving and Printing: image enlarged, rendered for tone and clarity by… · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Christian Krohg - Leiv Eirikson discovering America - Google Art Project
Christian Krohg · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Christian Krohg - Leiv Eirikson discovering America - Google Art Project

Christian Krohg - Leiv Eirikson discovering America - Google Art Project

Christian Krohg · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons