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Gunnbjørn Ulfsson was the first European to sight North America. (Greenland is physically and culturally part of North America; it is separated from Ellesmere Island by only a narrow strait, so this constitutes the first definitively established European contact with North America.)<br><!--
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-->Gunnbjørn was blown off course while sailing from Norway to Iceland. He and his crew sighted islands (Gunnbjörn's skerries) lying close off the coast of Greenland, and reported this find. Gunnbjørn did not land.<br><!--
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-->The exact date of this event is not recorded in the sagas. Various sources cite dates ranging from 876 to 932; the early 10th century is probably more likely than earlier.<!--
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