Many people believe that Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot in America, but this conventional belief is false; Leif Erikson, a northern explorer, set foot in Newfoundland almost 500 years before Columbus was even born. This article will cover everything about Leif Erikson's life, including his grandfather's banishment from Norway and his father's exile from Iceland. Leif Erikson's early life, his family and his visit to Norway to serve under the king. The first recorded European to see North America, Bjarni Herjólfsson and Leif Erikson's trip to America. This article will also talk about the trip of Leif Erikson's brother, Thorvald Erikson to Vinland, because his story is interesting. Towards the end of this research paper, there will be a paragraph on the later life of Leif Erikson. Finally, at the end of this article, we will talk about the unknown reason why no other Europeans sailed to Vinland and Leif's impact on modern North America. Leif Erikson's grandfather, Thorvald Asvaldsson, massacred a man in Jæren, Norway, in 960 CE. It was the time of the Vikings, but Thorvald was still banished from the country (Mandia, nd). So he brought his ten-year-old son Erik, who would later be named Erik the Red because of his scarlet hair, to Drangar in northwest Iceland to a farm with rather terrible soil (Where is Vinland?, nd).Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, grandson of Thorvald Asvaldsson, was born around 970 CE, in Iceland (Where is Vinland?). It was a convention of Norse culture that children did not grow up with their families, but Leif grew up with a man named Thyrker, practically an adoptive father of Leif. Thyrker was born in Germany, but he was brought to Iceland because Erik the Red captured his...... middle of paper...... http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/lia /vikings_during_mwp.html Ryne, L. (nd). Leif Erikson. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from Great Norwegians website: http://www.mnc.net/norway/Erikson.htmSkråmm, Y. (August 14, 2004). Leif Ericsson. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from The VikingNetwork website: http://viking.no/e/people/leif/e-leiv.htmSoniak, M. (January 23, 2013). He could have discovered America, but he wanted to see his parents. mental_floss, retrieved from http://mentalfloss.com/article/33584/he-could-have-discovered-amErika-he-want d-see-his-parentsWeitemier, KA (nd). Leif Erikson. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from GreatNorwegians website: http://www.mnc.net/norway/LeifErikson.htmWhere is Vinland? (nd). Retrieved March 31, 2014 from Canadian Mysteries website: http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/vinland/home/indexen.html