September 4, 476
The Western Roman Empire officially ended when Germanic leader Odoacer deposed the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, marking the end of nearly 1,000 years of Roman dominance over Western Europe.
June 1, 1000
Viking explorer Leif Erikson becomes the first European to reach North America, establishing settlements in present-day Newfoundland around 1000 CE. His journey predated Christopher Columbus's voyage by nearly 500 years and led to the first documented European-Native American contact.
