Every time you get on the internet on your computer, the computer saves a copy of every page that you visit while on that computer. Basically speaking, the computer keeps a record in an archive right in its own software that shows the exact history of every page that you have been to during the duration of your stay on the internet.
There are some programs that prevent a history from being documented and most systems allow you to erase this history at will. There are also external programs that save copies of these pages on an out of computer archive. This is usually used by concerned parents that know that their children have the knowledge of how to erase the browser history. It is used to monitor the activity of children on computers. Some workplaces also use this kind of server that externally saves a list of all web pages saved on the computer to make sure that employees are not visiting inappropriate pages while on the clock or not logging on to time wasting websites while at the workplace. This is done because there is no way for the employee to access or manipulate these databases while at the workplace so they may not control what their employers see.
Browser histories are largely a security measure for computers, but they are also widely used as a simple archive for the computer. If a person forgets what site they found a certain bit of information, they can easily find it by getting onto their browser histories and checking what the site was called that they found the information on.
On more advanced systems of browser history saves, users may even go to the exact page that they were previously on simply by clicking on a link that references the site that they were previously on. The browser history is the most advanced form of archiving on any PC because it is wholly automatic and users may filter what information they want saved and what information they simply want removed.
The Browser history feature was first made popular by Internet Explorer during the late 1980's and early 1990 are when the World Wide Web was just becoming used by a common demographic. It was originally formed to simply keep tabs on websites that people visited because it was not so easy to document and remember what sites were visited and what type of information was on them.
As practical application of computers evolved, so did the functionality of the browser history. On some computers, there was a feature that demanded a password to access the browser history. This was both for privacy and for security for concern parents whose children were beginning to lap them on their knowledge of technology.
Today, browser histories are used for the same purposes that they were used for in the beginning of their existence. The only difference is the sophistication of the systems that are now used. The application of the browser history has not changed as it is still used for the main purposes of memory and security. The only difference is that the browser history can be just as secured as any other piece of critical information that may be stored on a computer either domestically or professionally.