who is leif erikson

Leif Erikson was a Norse explorer from the late 10th and early 11th centuries, widely considered to be the first European to set foot on continental North America, about 500 years before Christopher Columbus. He was born in Iceland around the 970s and grew up in Greenland, where his father Erik the Red had established the first Norse settlement. Leif is known for leading an expedition to a land he called Vinland, now believed to be part of the coastal area of North America near Newfoundland, Canada, where archaeological remains of a Viking settlement were found. After his voyage, he became the chief of the Greenland settlement and also played a role in spreading Christianity there. His story largely comes from Icelandic sagas, and he earned the byname "Leif the Lucky" for his successful explorations.