Leif Erikson’s foray into North America began over a thousand years ago—long before Columbus’s 1492 journey. Read on to find out more about the intrepid explorer. 1.

Leif Erikson was the first European to set foot on continental America, around half a millennium before Christopher Columbus arrived – however, how exactly he got there depends on the source.

The Leif Erikson story has its ugly side. Racial theorists have used the evidence both real and manufactured of a Norse arrival before Columbus to prove that America somehow had Nordic “Aryan ...

The dedication ceremony for the Leif Erikson Memorial was part of the Leif Erikson Day celebration held in St. Paul on October 9, 1949. An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people attended the thirteen ...

Scholars believe that Leif Erikson was born in Iceland in 968, and he died in Greenland in 1020. The Icelandic Sagas tell of his voyage in the year 1000, and subsequent voyages by his brother.

Leif Erikson has long served as a symbol for Minnesota’s Scandinavian American community. According to Icelandic sagas, Erikson led a Norse expedition to North America in 1000 CE and established ...

A statue of Leif Erikson looks out across the Muddy River in Charlesgate Park, Boston. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR) 986: Erikson left Iceland after his father was banished around this year.

Actually, it should be a four-day holiday, since Tuesday is Leif Erikson Day — the first European to actually set foot in North America (sorry, Columbus fans). But no such luck.

The Leif Erikson Day meme pops up annually on October 9, often referencing an episode of SpongeBob Squarepants.Popular awareness of the holiday skyrocketed after 2001, when SpongeBob woke up and ...