There is a widely held notion, even among educational historians, that the history of education is an unusual academic specialty, embraced fully by neither the professional world of teaching nor the historical profession. But in fact, the history of education may not be so unusual a specialization. It is one of a number of historical fields of research, writing, and teaching attached to nonhistorical disciplines or areas of study. In this respect, it is similar to economic history, legal history, and the history of science, among others. Taken together, all of these fields can be said to represent a certain type of historical specialization, which the author has chosen to call "disciplinary history." This essay examines a number of these other fields of disciplinary historical scholarship, noting broad tendencies in their development, and considers implications for understanding historians of education as a distinctive scholarly community. (Contains 54 footnotes.)