Circa 975-Circa 1020
Viking Explorer

Iceland, Greenland, Norway. One of three sons of Erik Thorvaldson, or Erik the Red, Leif Eriksson was born in Iceland, but he came of age in the Viking settlement established by his father in Greenland. Resources were scarce in the new territory, and the colonists depended heavily on trade with Scandinavian merchant vessels. In 999 Leif sailed from Greenland to Norway, hoping to convince King Olaf Tryggvason to strengthen trading ties with the Greenlanders. His ship was blown off course, and he was forced to spend the summer in the Hebrides. There Leif fell in love with a woman named Thorgunna, who later bore him a child. In autumn of that year he reached Norway, where Leif converted to Christianity. King Olaf urged him to spread the new faith among his kinsmen and neighbors at home, and accordingly, in 1000, Leif returned to Greenland...