Leif Ericson

Leif Ericson Day – October 9, 2013

He was here first!  Five hundred years before Christopher Columbus discovered the “New World,” Viking explorer Leif Ericson stepped ashore somewhere on the north east coast of North America.  Ericson was born in Iceland around 970 CE.   His grandfather was exiled from Norway to Iceland and his father (the infamous Eric the Red) was in turn banished from Iceland.  The family eventually settled in Greenland and when Leif came of age he was sent back to Norway to establish trade.  While in Norway, Leif converted to Christianity and was encouraged to spread the word among his pagan countrymen when he returned to Greenland.   Several Norse sagas relate his expeditions to the coast of North American and interactions with the native people he found there.  While it is unclear exactly where Ericson landed, archaeological evidence has been found on several sites in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

To honor Leif Ericson and celebrate our Nordic-American heritage, the Congress, by joint resolution (Public Law 88-566) approved on September 2, 1964, has authorized the President of the United States to proclaim October 9 of each year as "Leif Ericson Day."

Read more about Leif Ericson in books from the JCC libraries.  (Try searching the catalog for “Vikings.”)   Several databases (http://www.sunyjcc.edu/library/databases-by-title) contain entries about Leif Ericson:  Gale Virtual Reference Library and Salem History – also try searching in National Geographic Virtual Library for “Vikings” for more information about this fascinating character.

"Leif Eriksson." World Eras. Ed. Jeremiah Hackett. Vol. 4: Medieval Europe, 814-1350. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002. 47-48. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.

-- Maggie McElrath