Leif Erikson was born in 972 CE in Eiríksstaðir. A Norse explorer from Iceland, Leif Erikson is credited in the sagas with leading the first European expedition to the North American mainland, about five hundred years before Columbus. He was the son of Erik the Red, the founder of the Norse settlement in Greenland, and sailed west around the year 1000 to explore a land he named Vinland. Archaeological remains found at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland confirm a Norse presence in North America in this period. The Greenland and Vinland sagas give differing accounts of the voyages, and the exact location of Vinland remains debated.
Before and after
- March 970 CEBattle of Arcadiopolis
- 971 CEConstruction of al-Azhar Mosque
- from 25 April 971 CE to 24 July 971 CESiege of Dorostolon
- from August 971 CE to December 971 CEFirst Qarmatian invasion of Egypt
- 972 CEBirth of Leif Erikson
- from 972 CE to 1301Árpád dynasty
- 4 September 973 CEBirth of Al-Biruni
- 977 CERise of Ghaznavids
- 977 CEConstruction of Imam Ali Mosque
More in Exploration & discovery
- from 629 CE to 645 CEXuanzang travels from China to India
- from 1271 to 1295Marco Polo sets out for China
- c. 1280sPolynesian navigators settle New Zealand
- 1451Birth of Christopher Columbus
- 1480Birth of Ferdinand Magellan
- 24 June 1497John Cabot reaches North America
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 10th century.