Erik Thorvaldsson, known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland. He most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color of his hair and beard. 950 – 1003; died at about 52. Alive at the same time as Avicenna, Murasaki Shikibu, Sylvester II, Vladimir the Great, and Ferdowsi. Wiki link