who discovered greenland

Greenland was discovered by Erik the Red around 982-983 AD. He was a Norse explorer who, after being exiled from Iceland, sailed west and discovered the island. He named it Greenland to make it sound appealing to settlers, despite much of it being covered by ice. Erik the Red returned to Iceland in 985 AD to encourage settlers to move to Greenland, leading to the establishment of two colonies there. Although earlier Norse explorers like Gunnbjörn Ulfsson had sighted Greenland, Erik the Red is credited with its discovery and the first permanent European settlement on the island.