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Leif Erikson Day is a United States observance occurring on October 9 . It honors Leif Erikson , who led the first European s believed to have set foot on North America n soil. In 1964 , Congress authorized and requested the President to create the observance through an annual Proclamation . Lyndon B. Johnson and each President since have done so. Presidents have used the proclamation to pay tribute to the contributions of Americans of Nordic descent generally and the spirit of discovery. In addition to the federal observance, some U.S. State s officially commemorate Leif Erikson Day, particularly in the Upper Midwest , where large numbers of immigrants from the Nordic countries settled. In 1930, Wisconsin became the first state to officially adopt this holiday, thanks to efforts by the Norwegian-American initiator, Rasmus B. Anderson . A year later Minnesota followed suit. In 1963, the U.S. Representative from Duluth , John Blatnik , introduced a bill to observe it nationwide. The following year Congress adopted this unanimously. October 9 is not associated with any particular event in Leif Erikson's life. The date was chosen because the ship ''Restauration'' arrived in New York Harbor on October 9 , 1825 at the start of the first organized immigration from Norway to the United States. EXTERNAL LINKS
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