The Viking Who Found America—By Accident
A long time ago, over a thousand years back, a Viking named Bjarni Herjólfsson set sail across the cold, gray sea. He wasn’t searching for treasure, or fame, or even new lands. He was just trying to visit his dad.
Every summer, Bjarni made the trip from Norway to Iceland to see his father. But in the summer of 986, something was different. When Bjarni reached Iceland, his father wasn’t there. Locals told him that his dad had left with Erik the Red—the fierce Viking who had started a new colony in a place called Greenland.
So Bjarni, a loyal son and brave sailor, decided to follow him.
But here’s where the tale takes a twist.
Bjarni had no map. No compass. Just his ship, his crew, and the stars above.
As luck—or fate—would have it, a huge storm slammed into the ship. Winds howled. Waves crashed. Days passed. When the clouds finally cleared, Bjarni and his men looked out and saw something amazing.
He saw land!
But not the icy shores of Greenland. This land was strange. It was green, covered with tall trees and rolling hills—something no one expected in the far North.
“Let’s go explore!” his crew begged.
But Bjarni shook his head. “This isn’t Greenland,” he said. “We keep sailing.”
So on they went, spotting more land—mountains topped with snow, forests stretching as far as the eye could see. Again, the crew begged to stop. Again, Bjarni refused. He knew in his gut that this wasn’t the place they were looking for.
Finally, after sailing for many more days, they reached Greenland.
Bjarni had made it. But he had also missed something big—he may have been the first European to ever lay eyes on North America.
He retired not long after and eventually told others about the lands he had seen. Some were amazed. Others, like Earl Eric of Norway, scolded him. “Why didn’t you explore it?” they asked.
Still, word spread.
And then came Leif.
Leif the Explorer
Leif Ericsson, the son of Erik the Red, heard Bjarni’s story and couldn’t forget it. About 15 years later, he bought Bjarni’s old ship, gathered a crew of 35 brave men, and set out to find the lands Bjarni had passed by.
He did more than just spot them—he stepped ashore.
Leif named the places he found: Helluland (which we now call Baffin Island), Markland (Labrador), and Vinland (most likely Newfoundland). In Vinland, he and his crew built homes and stayed for a time. That place, L’Anse aux Meadows, became the first known Viking settlement in North America—hundreds of years before Columbus.
Bjarni Herjólfsson didn’t become a legend because he conquered new lands. He became one because he stumbled upon a new world—and had the wisdom to know he wasn’t ready for it.
But thanks to his journey, and the stories he told, others followed.
And that’s how a simple trip to visit his dad may have changed history forever.
