c. 950-1004

Icelandic Explorer

First European to land on Greenland, Erik the Red gave that forbidding island its somewhat deceptive name, and founded a European colony there that would remain operative for more than three centuries. His son, Leif Eriksson, launched an even more ambitious expedition from Greenland, to what became known as the New World. The two men rank as the greatest Viking explorers.

Not long after Erik was born, near the Norwegian town of Stavanger, his family had to leave their home and move hundreds of miles west. His father, Thorvald Asvaldsson (Erik's surname was Thorvaldson) had become involved in a blood feud, and had killed a man. As punishment, he and his family were banished to Iceland, which had been settled by Vikings in the 870s.

Growing up in a remote area of western Iceland no doubt helped Erik learn the...