Many people believed that Christopher Columbus was the first person to discover America when he landed on the shores of the Bahamas in 1492. However, there is evidence to suggest that he was not the first person to discover the continent. In fact, the North American continent was likely discovered thousands of years earlier by indigenous peoples who had been living in the Americas for thousands of years before Columbus arrived.

One of the earliest explorers to reach North America was Leif Eriksson, a Norse explorer who is believed to have landed in what is now Newfoundland, Canada around the year 1000 AD. This predates Columbus' voyage by nearly 500 years.

Despite this, Columbus is still credited with "discovering" America because his voyage marked the beginning of European exploration and colonization of the Americas. His journey paved the way for future explorers and settlers to come to the New World and establish colonies.

It is important to recognize the contributions of indigenous peoples to the history of America and to remember that they were the first to discover and inhabit the continent. Columbus may have been the first European to reach the Americas, but he was not the first person to discover the land.