The first European to sight this cape was
James Cook. It is unclear who named it. On August 21, 1778, he wrote: "The southern extreme seemed to form a point which was named Cape", followed by a blank for the name. Someone added the word Lisburne, but it is not in Cook's handwriting. An early
Inupiaq name for the cape was "
Uivvaq", generally spelled "
Wevok" or "Wevuk". Cape Lisburne was often referred to as "Uivvaq Uŋasiktuq" meaning "distant cape" as opposed to "Uivvaq Qanittuq" (
Cape Thompson) meaning "near cape". The native Inupiaq who lived there were struck by a deadly epidemic and many died along with an
Episcopal missionary named John Driggs. From 1951 to 1983, the
United States Air Force maintained a long-range radar and communication facility at
Cape Lisburne Air Force Station that was part of the
DEW Line network of radar sites along the
Alaska North Slope. The
Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center maintains the radar installation today. ==Notes==