Arthur Harbour was roughly charted by the French Antarctic Expedition (1903–1905) under Jean-Baptiste Charcot.

It was named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-names Committee (UK-APC) in 1956 after Oswald Raynor Arthur, then Governor of the Falkland Islands.

In January 1965, it was converted into a biological laboratory for use by American personnel from nearby Palmer Station.

[2] A number of features in and around Arthur Harbour were named and charted by various Antarctic surveys and expedition groups.

Some 214 ha of land and sea in northern Arthur Harbour, about 1–2 km north-west of Palmer Station, was listed as Important Bird Area (IBA) number 013 by BirdLife International until being delisted in 2015.