This chapter provides an overview of aspects of bone “history,” but it is neither required reading nor will there be a test on dates (two things that make many people dislike history). The goal of this chapter is twofold. First, it aims to help the readers understand where many fundamental concepts originated (and by whom) and how, throughout the centuries, there was great debate on such topics, some of which continues today. Second, it serves an attempt to preserve history. Nine years before the first edition of this book, Bruce Martin and David Burr wrote “Structure, Function, and Adaptation of Compact Bone” (Martin and Burr, Structure, function, and adaptation of compact bone. Raven Press, 1989). It served as a foundation for the current book but is now out of print and very challenging to obtain. The first chapter “Structure, Function, and Adaptation of Compact Bone” was a rich historical account of concepts that are now foundational aspects of bone physiology. It had been left out of the first two editions of the current text. We have brought it back, slightly edited, in hopes that readers can benefit from the historical research done by Martin and Burr over 30 years ago (Martin and Burr, Structure, function, and adaptation of compact bone. Raven Press, 1989).