Who is the Viking that landed in Newfoundland in 1002?

The Viking identified with the Norse landing in Newfoundland in the early 11th century was Leif Erikson.

According to the Icelandic sagas, Leif Erikson was the son of Erik the Red, who founded the Norse settlement in Greenland. Around the year 1000, Leif sailed west and reached a fertile land he called Vinland. Some quiz references give the date as 1002, but the exact year is uncertain.

Archaeological evidence supports the saga accounts. L’Anse aux Meadows, at the northern tip of Newfoundland, contains the remains of a Norse settlement dated to about 1000. It is the earliest confirmed European site in North America, centuries before Christopher Columbus’s voyage.

A common mix-up is confusing Leif with his father, Erik the Red, or with later Norse explorers such as Thorfinn Karlsefni. The site proves Norse activity in Newfoundland, although the sagas—not a surviving contemporary report—connect Leif personally with the voyage.