EXPLORER

Leif Erikson

970 - 1020

Photo of Leif Erikson

Icon of person Leif Erikson

Leif Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky (c. 970s – c. 1018 to 1025), was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. According to the sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, which is usually interpreted as being coastal North America. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Leif Erikson has received more than 9,252,500 page views. His biography is available in 100 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 96 in 2019). Leif Erikson is the 25th most popular explorer (down from 23rd in 2019), the most popular biography from Iceland and the most popular Icelander Explorer.

Leif Ericson is most famous for being the first European to discover North America.

Memorability Metrics

  • 9.3M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 77.51

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 100

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.56

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 6.35

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among EXPLORERS

Among explorers, Leif Erikson ranks 25 out of 498Before him are Juan Sebastián Elcano, Jacques Cartier, David Livingstone, Jacques Cousteau, Erik the Red, and Vitus Bering. After him are Willem Barentsz, Thor Heyerdahl, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Martin Behaim, Jan van Riebeeck, and Pytheas.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 970, Leif Erikson ranks 1After him are Pope John XVIII, Pope Sergius IV, Bruno of Querfurt, Fulk III, Count of Anjou, Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia, Al-Sharif al-Radi, Otto, Duke of Lower Lorraine, Conrad I, Duke of Carinthia, Åsta Gudbrandsdatter, Procopius of Sázava, and Hawise of Normandy. Among people deceased in 1020, Leif Erikson ranks 1After him are Ferdowsi, Abhinavagupta, Manuel Erotikos Komnenos, Al-Sijzi, Trdat, Malusha, Åsta Gudbrandsdatter, Melus of Bari, Gagik I of Armenia, and Ælfric of Eynsham.

Others Born in 970

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Others Deceased in 1020

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In Iceland

Among people born in Iceland, Leif Erikson ranks 1 out of 190After him are Snorri Sturluson (1179), Halldór Laxness (1902), Thorfinn Karlsefni (1000), Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (1930), Björk (1965), Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (1943), Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (1942), Bjarni Herjólfsson (966), Egill Skallagrímsson (904), Katrín Jakobsdóttir (1976), and Ásgeir Ásgeirsson (1894).

Among EXPLORERS In Iceland

Among explorers born in Iceland, Leif Erikson ranks 1After him are Thorfinn Karlsefni (1000), Bjarni Herjólfsson (966), Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir (1000), and Thorvald Eiriksson (972).