Bjarni Herjolfsson

Bjarni was a Viking explorer and most probably the first European to sight the east coast of North America.

In the summer of 985 (or 986) Bjarni made his way to Iceland, and then to Greenland to join his father Herjólfr Bárdarson. However, he lost the course in the strong storm and ended up in an unknown territory. He saw the land which he later described as “wooded and hilly”, and sailing northward he sighted “mountainous land and mountains partly covered with snow”. Realizing that he got lost, Bjarni changed course and subsequently reached his father’s estate after several days.

According to some scholars, Bjarni sighted Newfoundland, Labrador ad Baffin Island although some of them claim that he strayed as far as Maine. He himself never went ashore nor made any attempt to investigate his findings.