Leif the Lucky, real name Leifur heppni Eir�ksson fl.1000
Icelandic explorer

He was the son of Erik the Red. Just before the year 1000 he set sail from Greenland to explore lands to the west, reaching Baffin Land, Labrador, and an area he called 'V�nland' (Wineland) because of the wild grapes he found growing there. The location of V�nland has defied precise identification, but incontrovertible remains of a Norse settlement have been found on Newfoundland. Other Icelandic settlers, led by Thorfinn, tried to establish a colony in 'V�nland', but withdrew in the face of hostility from the native Indians. Two Icelandic sagas, Eir�ks saga rau�a ('Saga of Eric') and Gr�nlendinga saga ('Tale of the Greenlanders'), tell the story of the Norse discovery and attempted colonization of North America, 500 years before Christopher Columbus discovered the New World.