#12: Vikings’ Early Discovery of America
Nearly 500 years before Columbus, Viking explorer Leif Erikson set foot in North America around 1000 AD, landing in what is now Newfoundland. The Vikings called it Vinland, inspired by the wild grapes or fertile fields they discovered.
Leif’s journey began as a detour from Greenland, but fate led him to an untamed new world. He rescued two stranded sailors along the way, marking the first recorded European encounter with North America. Though their settlement was short-lived, Erikson’s voyage cemented the Vikings as the pioneers of transatlantic exploration long before the Age of Discovery officially began.