This review argues that history merits a place amongst the subjects which constitute interdisciplinary public health. It claims that three aspects of historical study can inform the contemporary thinking of public health practitioners. First, demographic trends over the very long term yield insights into fundamental drivers of human longevity and wellness. Second, the history of medicine in public health teaches us that medical science is not simply a progression of therapeutic discoveries, but a type of knowledge always situated in a social and cultural context. Third, the history of policy-making for health alerts us to issues of power and vested interest that surround attempts to advance public health goals in the political arena. This last contention is then illustrated through a case study which examines a historical puzzle peculiar to Poland. What were the reasons for the striking decline in cigarette consumption that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall, when all expectations were that the opposite should occur?