Leif Ericson
Ericson, Leif, a Norse explorer. He was the son of Eric the Red, who had settled in Greenland. On a voyage in the year 1000, according to Norse sagas, Leif was driven off his course by winds. He reached a land previously unknown to Europeans, which he called Vinland. Evidence found in the 1960's indicated it was Newfoundland's northern peninsula.