Leif Erikson

Leif Erikson, sometimes known as Leif the Lucky, was a Norse adventurer who is believed to have been the first European to set foot on North American soil, about 500 years before Christopher Columbus. His full name is Leif Erikson, Leiv Eiriksson, or Leif Ericson. He founded a Norse settlement at Vinland, which is typically thought to be coastal North America, according to Icelandic sagas. There is persistent suspicion that the settlement established by Leif and his company is related to the ruins of a Norse settlement named L'Anse aux Meadows, which were discovered in Newfoundland, Canada, and was inhabited 1,000 years ago (carbon dating estimates 990–1050 CE). Erik the Red, who established the first Norse settlement in Greenland, and Thjodhild of Iceland were the parents of Leif. Although his birthplace is unknown, it is likely that he was born in Iceland, which had just lately been settled by Norsemen, primarily from Norway.

Since Leif's successful mission in Vinland inspired other Norsemen to follow in his footsteps, they were the first Europeans to settle the region. A bill designating October 9 as "Leif Erikson Day" in Wisconsin was passed by the state legislature in 1929. The United States Congress authorized and requested the president to proclaim October 9 as "Leif Erikson Day" each year in 1964. On October 6, 2000, President Bill Clinton issued Presidential Proclamation 7358, designating Monday, October 9, 2000, as Leif Erikson Day.