[Tancred]

Also a book called Terra Incognita: The True Story of How America Got Its Name by Rodney Broome

[Junior]

Although North America was visited by Leif Ericsson, or "Leif the Lucky", nearly 1 000 years before the birth of Christ,

Does anyone proofread these things?

[Verginius Rufus]

The name America was applied first to South America on a map published by Martin Waldseemueller...he had read Amerigo Vespucci's account of his voyages and thought Amerigo was the first European to set foot on the southern continent. This article provides no evidence that Waldseemueller had ever heard of this Welshman or that anyone in England started calling the land Cabot visited America before Waldseemueller suggested the name.

[ZULU]

Leif Ericsson was NOT the first European to see America.

Sometime before Leif settled somewhere in "Vinland", North America, AFTER 1000 A.D., a Norse Trading Ship, captained by one Bjarni Herjolfsson, got lost in a fog while traveling from Iceland to Greenland. He drifted out of course, and, when the fog cleared, he saw land to the west of his ship, which was unknown land. Sailing north along the coast and then due east he returned to Greenland.

That was America, and when Bjanri returned to Greenland, Leif heard about this new land from him and decided to try a settlement there.

Apparently long after Leif's settlement was abandoned by the Norse, they continued to travel to North America to obtain lumber which was in poor supply in Greenland.

Most of this is in the Vinlanda Saga.