Leif Ericson Statue

Leif Ericson ( /ˈleɪf/ layf or /ˈliːf/ leef; Old Norse: Leifr Eiríksson; Norwegian: Leiv Eiriksson c. 970 – c. 1020) was a Norse explorer who is regarded as the first European to land in North America (excluding Greenland), nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus. According to the Sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, which has been tentatively identified with the L'Anse aux Meadows Norse site on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leif_Eriksson