Hopen was discovered in 1596 by Jan Cornelisz Rijp during the third expedition by Willem Barentsz, trying to find the Northeast Passage.

The Norwegian Meteorological Institute since 1947 operates a staffed weather station on the island with a staff of four persons.

[2][3][4] During World War II, the Luftwaffe placed a meteorological team there under cover of Operation Zitronella.

Due to their remote location, the German soldiers on Hopen were the last in Europe to surrender to the allies, who had to in fact be rescued after losing radio contact almost 5 months prior.

[5] On August 28, 1978 an early model Tupolev Tu-16 of the Soviet Air Force crashed on the island.