The first European to set foot in America: Who is Leif Erikson?
He set out to find Newfoundland, which is within the borders of Canada today and explored different parts of the continent. It is rumored that Leif Ericson was born in Iceland in 970 as the son of Erik the Red.
Like many Norwegians of the period, he changed his religion and became Christian. He went to the King of Norway and said that he was ready to serve. In line with the assignment he received from the king, he went on an expedition to see the western parts of Greenland.
In fact, he set out to see these lands himself with the ship he bought from Bjarni Herjólfsson, who was the first to see and report on the American continent. This land was most likely Newfoundland, Canada.
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.
When Leif Ericson and his crew returned to this region after a while, they were impressed by the abundance of very large salmon living in the rivers, the much milder climate compared to Norway's, the fact that there was little ice in the winter, and the fact that green grass could be seen throughout the year, and they built several houses. Ericson's man named Tırkır found wild grapes in the region, and Leif then changed the name of the region to "Vinland".
Continuing his journey to deepen his exploration, Ericson encountered a region with flat rocks. Ericson, who probably landed on today's Baffin Island, named this region Helluland. Heller means flat rock in Old Norse. At his next stop, the explorer encountered forests and sandy lands. He named this region, thought to be Labrador today, Markland, meaning "forest", and left without knowing that he had found a new continent.
As is the case with Leif Ericson's life in general, there is not enough information about where, when, and under what circumstances he died. It is only rumored that he died in 1020. After the death of the explorer, today, there are many places, institutions and places in many parts of the world that are commemorated by him or his name.
In 1964, United States President Lyndon Baines Johnson declared October 9 as Leif Ericson Day in the United States. One of the claims made about him today is that Ericson reached Minnesota via the Hudson Bay or the Great Lakes.
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The Story of Leif Erikson
https://www.lifeinnorway.net/leif-erikson/