The International Polar Year was the inspiration of Austrian explorer and naval officer Lt. Karl Weyprecht as a vehicle for international collaboration in polar science and exploration. The first polar year occured in 1882-1883; eleven countries participated and established fourteen research stations for the purpose of investigating the meteorology and earth magnetic field at high latitudes. The United States used the first IPY to establish a research station at its northernmost point, sending a party of men from the US Signal Corps to Pt. Barrow in Alaska. Led by Lieutenant P. Henry Ray, the expedition sailed from San Francisco on July 18, 1881 and returned October 7, 1883.
From the guide to the Internation Polar Expedition to Pt. Barrow Records, 1881-1888, (University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Polar Regions Collections & Archives)
