2020-10-09 Fri

Leif Erikson Day is an annual observance that occurs on 9th October in the USA, Iceland and Norway. It honours Leif Erikson the Norse explorer who was the leader of the first Europeans known to have set foot on the North American continent. For a long time, Christopher Columbus had been thought to be the first European to have reached the New World. However, in 1874 Rasmus B. Anderson published his book “America Not Discovered by Columbus”. It popularized the idea it was Vikings who were the first people from Europe to have arrived in North America. Research by Norwegian-American scholars such as Ludvig Hektoen and Knut Gjerset confirmed this idea. October 9 is not associated with any particular event in Leif Erikson's life. The date was chosen because the ship Restauration coming from Stavanger, Norway, arrived in New York Harbor on October 9, 1825, as a wave of immigration from Norway to America. In the year 2016 Gambia issues a commemorative coin worth 20 Gambian dalasis. The obverse of the coin there is the national emblem of the Gambia, the name of the issuing country and the year - '2016'. The reverse features the head of Leif Erikson with the vessel on which the explorer discovered three American coast regions. The inscription reads “Leif Eriksson – the discoverer of the new world and denomination value. Image Courtesy: Colnect.com