The island was named after the French navigator Louis Antoine de Bougainville.
On March 8, 1943 during World War II, American forces were attacked by Japanese troops on Hill 700 on this island in a battle that lasted five days ending on March 13 with a Japanese retreat.
A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997, after claiming some 20,000 lives.
See also: Rotokas language
Bougainville is also the name of a commune of the Somme département in France.