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Erik the Red ( 950– 1003; Icelandic: Eiríkur Rauði; Norwegian; Eirik Raude; sometimes Eric the Red) was the founder of the first Nordic settlement in Greenland (long before it had been named Greenland, it had perhaps been inhabited by the Dorset people) and father of Leif Ericson(Leiv Eiriksson). Erik the Red was so called because of his red hair. Born in Norway, he was the son of Þorvaldur (notice that the letter at the beginning of this first name is a thorn) Ásvaldsson ( Thorvald Asvaldsson), and was also called Erik Torvaldsson (or Eiríkur Þorvaldsson). Note that the Þorvaldsson is a patronymic, not a surname.

In about 960, Erik's father was forced to flee Norway because of a murder. The family settled in Iceland, but in 982Events Greenland founded by Erik the Red ; first contact of Europeans with North America Births Emma of Normandy Atisha the Bengali Buddhist Saint Deaths 982., Erik was outlawButch Cassidy, a famous outlaw An outlaw a person living the lifestyle of outlawry is most familiar to contemporary readers as a stock character in Western movies. The Western outlaw is typically a criminal who operates from a base in the wilderness, anded there too because of another murder. He decided to search for a land further west of Iceland which had been spotted earlier by a discoverer named Gunnbjörn, who gave it the name "Gunnbjarnarsker" ("Gunnbjörn's skerries").

According to The Saga of Eric the RedThe Saga of Eric the Red was, by most accounts, written by Jon Thorharson in 1387, almost four centuries after the events in the saga, which were almost certainly handed down by oral tradition. In the saga, the events that led Eric the Red's banishment to, he spent three years in outlawry (his period of banishment) exploring the coast of Greenland, and then returned to Iceland with tall stories about this new-found land. With a large number of colonists, he returned to Greenland in 985Events Barcelona sacked by Al-Mansur Greenland colonized by Icelandic Viking Erik the Red (the date is according to legend but has been established as at least approximately correct see History of Greenland) Births Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, later sixth Fatim and established two colonies on its west coast: the eastern settlement (near the south point), which he named Eystribyggð and the western settlement, Vestribyggð (around NuukNuuk ( Danish/Norwegian: Godthab which translates to Good hope in English) is the capital of the self-governing Danish territory of Greenland. The city was founded in 1728 by the Norwegian missionary Hans Egede, and given the name Godthab. At this time Gr). In Eystribyggð, he built the estate BrattahlíðBrattahli was Erik the Red's house at his colony in Greenland., near what is now NarssarssuaqNarssarssuaq (also spelled Narsarsuaq, Greenlandic for Great Plain) was the principal city of Greenland in the times of Erik the Red. That settlement died out by the end of the Middle Ages. In 1941, the United States built an air base at Narssarssuaq, whi, for himself. His title was that of paramount chieftainThe ancient rulers of Greenland were called paramount chieftains . Among the island nation's chieftains were: Erik the Red, or Eirikr Thorvaldsson, the nation's first chieftain and its first settler, began rule in 985. Leif Ericson, likely the first Europ of Greenland. The settlement venture involved twenty-five ships, fourteen of which made the journey successfully--some turned back, while others were lost at sea.

The settlement flourished, growing to over 3000 inhabitants; the original party was joined by groups of immigrants escaping overcrowding in Iceland. However, one group of immigrants that arrived in 1002 brought with it an epidemic that decimated the colony, killing many of its leading citizens, including Erik in the winter of 1003. Nevertheless, the colony was able to bounce back and survived well into the 15th century, shortly before Christopher Columbus made his fateful journey.

As far as is known, Erik had four children. He had a daughter, Freydís, as well as three sons, the explorer Leifur Eiríksson, Þorvald , and Þorsteinn . He was a pagan, unlike his son Leifur.