Leif Erikson was a ruthless viking and explorer. Born in Iceland on the year of 970 A.D. he explored our world and claimed new continents. Erickson was the first to find the new world and claim it to the vikings. Many claim to believe Columbus was the founder of the new world, but the truth is that Erikson founded the new world long before Columbus did. In this essay I will elaborate on who Leif Erikson is, what he accomplished, the areas he claimed, and why he was so crucial to our world today. Erikson is an Icelandic explorer of the early ages who’s claimed countless areas of new land. Erikson was born as the son of Erik the Red, who founded Greenland and was also born a viking in Iceland. He had two brothers and was the youngest of the two and had one sister. Erikson and his wife, Thorgunna, had two sons named Thorgils and Thorkell. The beginning of names as “Thor” is an old viking tradition that stands for thunder. Thor also has the meanings of strength, thunderstorms, and war. This is why many of the vikings at the time had similar names that began with “Thor”. Erikson took on…show more content… Sadly the settlement in Vinland of Vikings died off and didn’t last long after Erikson's leaving or long enough for anyone to notice that land was discovered by a viking himself, Lief Erikson. In the year of 1960 they found a settlement by the vikings in North America that provided evidence and proof to the legend of Erikson. Later after the discovery of the settlement of Vikings, Erikson was provided with the gratitude and grace he deserved for his many discoveries of new lands. In the many legends of Erikson, a true one was the rescue of a castaway on his way back to Greenland. For all his discoveries by accident and for saving the life of a castaway he claimed the nickname of “Leif the Lucky”. Erikson's life ended around the age of 50 with his family in
