Which historic Nordic figure gained Oct. 9 of each year as his own U.S. national day of recognition through a proclamation by President Barack Obama in 2016?
– Ragnar Lothbrok
– Leif Eriksson
– Erik the Red (Thorvaldsson)
– Olaf Tryggvason
Over 1,000 years ago, the Scandinavian explorer Leif Eriksson made a historic voyage that brought him to the coast of the North American continent. A native of Iceland with ancestral ties to Norway, Eriksson and his crew were the first Europeans to reach the shores of the North American continent. President Barack Obama proclaimed Oct. 9 as Leif Eriksson Day and called upon all Americans to commemorate the day with community activities and ceremonies that include programs designed to honor America’s rich Nordic American heritage. Source: ObamaWhiteHouse.archives.gov
Proclamation 6607: In honor of Leif Erikson and our Nordic-American heritage, the Congress, by joint resolution approved on September 2, 1964 (Public Law 88-556), has authorized and requested the President to proclaim October 9 of each year as “Leif Erikson Day.”
Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 9, 1993, as Leif Erikson Day. I also encourage the people of the United States to observe this occasion by learning more about our rich Nordic-American heritage and the early history of our continent.In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighteenth. – William J. Clinton