Statue of Leif Eiriksson, Reykjavik

In 1930, a statue of Leif Erikson, a Norse explorer from Iceland, was placed in the city center of Reykjavík. This statue currently stands in front of Hallgrím's Church (Hallgrímskirkja) and was gifted by the United States to Iceland in honor of the 1,000-year anniversary of Alþingi, Iceland's parliament.

Leif Erikson, also known as Leiv Eiriksson or Leif Ericson (circa 970 – circa 1020), is believed to be the first European to have landed on continental North America (excluding Greenland). This happened roughly 500 years before Christopher Columbus's famous voyage. According to Icelandic sagas, Leif Erikson established a Norse settlement in Vinland, which is generally thought to refer to coastal North America. Some speculate that this settlement corresponds to the remains of a Norse settlement called L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, which was occupied around the year 1000.

Leif Erikson was the son of Erik the Red, who founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland, and Thjodhild, both of Norwegian descent. Although the exact place of Leif's birth is uncertain, it is assumed to have been in Iceland, which had recently been settled by Norsemen primarily from Norway. He grew up on the family estate of Brattahlíð in the Eastern Settlement of Greenland. Leif had two known sons: Thorgils, born to the noblewoman Thorgunna in the Hebrides, and Thorkell, who succeeded him as the leader of the Greenland settlement.