(flourished 10th century, Norway) Founder of the first European settlement on Greenland (&circa; 986) and father of Leif Eriksson. A native of Norway, Erik grew up in Iceland; exiled for manslaughter &circa; 980, he set sail and landed on Greenland.
With 350 colonists he founded a colony that numbered about 1,000 settlers by &AD; 1000. In 1002 the colony was ravaged by sickness, and it gradually died out, though other Norse settlements in Greenland continued. Erik's story is told in the Icelandic Eiríks saga.
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