diff --git a/core/modules/comment/comment.module b/core/modules/comment/comment.module
index 7b6eda4..78685a8 100644
--- a/core/modules/comment/comment.module
+++ b/core/modules/comment/comment.module
@@ -1477,12 +1477,12 @@ function comment_load($cid, $reset = FALSE) {
 function comment_num_new($nid, $timestamp = 0) {
   global $user;
 
-  if ($user->uid) {
+  if ($user->uid && module_exists('history')) {
     // Retrieve the timestamp at which the current user last viewed this node.
     if (!$timestamp) {
-      $timestamp = node_last_viewed($nid);
+      $timestamp = history_node_last_viewed($nid);
     }
-    $timestamp = ($timestamp > NODE_NEW_LIMIT ? $timestamp : NODE_NEW_LIMIT);
+    $timestamp = ($timestamp > HISTORY_READ_LIMIT ? $timestamp : HISTORY_READ_LIMIT);
 
     // Use the timestamp to retrieve the number of new comments.
     return db_query('SELECT COUNT(cid) FROM {comment} WHERE nid = :nid AND created > :timestamp AND status = :status', array(
diff --git a/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentLinksTest.php b/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentLinksTest.php
index e1dcbec..c1eff57 100644
--- a/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentLinksTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentLinksTest.php
@@ -141,8 +141,8 @@ function setEnvironment(array $info) {
         comment_save($comment);
         $this->comment = $comment;
 
-        // comment_num_new() relies on node_last_viewed(), so ensure that no one
-        // has seen the node of this comment.
+        // comment_num_new() relies on history_node_last_viewed(), so ensure
+        // that no one has seen the node of this comment.
         db_delete('history')->condition('nid', $this->node->nid)->execute();
       }
       else {
diff --git a/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentTestBase.php b/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentTestBase.php
index e8bab5d..902dbdd 100644
--- a/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentTestBase.php
+++ b/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentTestBase.php
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
    *
    * @var array
    */
-  public static $modules = array('comment', 'node');
+  public static $modules = array('comment', 'node', 'history');
 
   /**
    * An administrative user with permission to configure comment settings.
diff --git a/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentTokenReplaceTest.php b/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentTokenReplaceTest.php
index 34674e8..46db533 100644
--- a/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentTokenReplaceTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentTokenReplaceTest.php
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
  * Tests comment token replacement in strings.
  */
 class CommentTokenReplaceTest extends CommentTestBase {
+
   public static function getInfo() {
     return array(
       'name' => 'Comment token replacement',
diff --git a/core/modules/forum/forum.info b/core/modules/forum/forum.info
index 887ed93..c348a2a 100644
--- a/core/modules/forum/forum.info
+++ b/core/modules/forum/forum.info
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 name = Forum
 description = Provides discussion forums.
 dependencies[] = node
+dependencies[] = history
 dependencies[] = taxonomy
 dependencies[] = comment
 package = Core
diff --git a/core/modules/forum/forum.module b/core/modules/forum/forum.module
index 459cbeb..05960a0 100644
--- a/core/modules/forum/forum.module
+++ b/core/modules/forum/forum.module
@@ -873,7 +873,7 @@ function forum_forum_load($tid = NULL) {
 /**
  * Calculates the number of new posts in a forum that the user has not yet read.
  *
- * Nodes are new if they are newer than NODE_NEW_LIMIT.
+ * Nodes are new if they are newer than HISTORY_READ_LIMIT.
  *
  * @param $term
  *   The term ID of the forum.
@@ -890,7 +890,7 @@ function _forum_topics_unread($term, $uid) {
   $query->addExpression('COUNT(n.nid)', 'count');
   return $query
     ->condition('status', 1)
-    ->condition('n.created', NODE_NEW_LIMIT, '>')
+    ->condition('n.created', HISTORY_READ_LIMIT, '>')
     ->isNull('h.nid')
     ->addTag('node_access')
     ->execute()
@@ -1311,7 +1311,7 @@ function template_preprocess_forum_submitted(&$variables) {
  *
  * @return
  *   The timestamp when the user last viewed this node, if the user has
- *   previously viewed the node; otherwise NODE_NEW_LIMIT.
+ *   previously viewed the node; otherwise HISTORY_READ_LIMIT.
  */
 function _forum_user_last_visit($nid) {
   global $user;
@@ -1320,10 +1320,10 @@ function _forum_user_last_visit($nid) {
   if (empty($history)) {
     $result = db_query('SELECT nid, timestamp FROM {history} WHERE uid = :uid', array(':uid' => $user->uid));
     foreach ($result as $t) {
-      $history[$t->nid] = $t->timestamp > NODE_NEW_LIMIT ? $t->timestamp : NODE_NEW_LIMIT;
+      $history[$t->nid] = $t->timestamp > HISTORY_READ_LIMIT ? $t->timestamp : HISTORY_READ_LIMIT;
     }
   }
-  return isset($history[$nid]) ? $history[$nid] : NODE_NEW_LIMIT;
+  return isset($history[$nid]) ? $history[$nid] : HISTORY_READ_LIMIT;
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/core/modules/history/history.api.php b/core/modules/history/history.api.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0c7276e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/history/history.api.php
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * API documentation for History module.
+ */
diff --git a/core/modules/history/history.info b/core/modules/history/history.info
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7658749
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/history/history.info
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+name = History
+description = Records which user has read which content.
+package = Core
+version = VERSION
+core = 8.x
+dependencies[] = node
diff --git a/core/modules/history/history.install b/core/modules/history/history.install
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dcfd871
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/history/history.install
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Installation functions for History module.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Implements hook_schema().
+ */
+function history_schema() {
+  $schema['history'] = array(
+    'description' => 'A record of which {users} have read which {node}s.',
+    'fields' => array(
+      'uid' => array(
+        'description' => 'The {users}.uid that read the {node} nid.',
+        'type' => 'int',
+        'not null' => TRUE,
+        'default' => 0,
+      ),
+      'nid' => array(
+        'description' => 'The {node}.nid that was read.',
+        'type' => 'int',
+        'not null' => TRUE,
+        'default' => 0,
+      ),
+      'timestamp' => array(
+        'description' => 'The Unix timestamp at which the read occurred.',
+        'type' => 'int',
+        'not null' => TRUE,
+        'default' => 0,
+      ),
+    ),
+    'primary key' => array('uid', 'nid'),
+    'indexes' => array(
+      'nid' => array('nid'),
+    ),
+  );
+
+  return $schema;
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/history/history.module b/core/modules/history/history.module
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..953da8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/history/history.module
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Records which users has read which content.
+ *
+ * @todo
+ * - Generic helper for _forum_user_last_visit() + history_node_last_viewed().
+ * - Generic helper for node_mark().
+ */
+
+use Drupal\node\Plugin\Core\Entity\Node;
+
+/**
+ * Entities changed before this time are always shown as read.
+ *
+ * Entities changed within this time may be marked as new, updated, or read,
+ * depending on their state for the current user. Defaults to 30 days ago.
+ */
+define('HISTORY_READ_LIMIT', REQUEST_TIME - 30 * 24 * 60 * 60);
+
+/**
+ * Implements hook_cron().
+ */
+function history_cron() {
+  db_delete('history')
+    ->condition('timestamp', HISTORY_READ_LIMIT, '<')
+    ->execute();
+}
+
+/**
+ * Updates 'last viewed' timestamp of the specified entity for the current user.
+ *
+ * @param $nid
+ *   The node ID that has been read.
+ * @param $account
+ *   (optional) The user account to update the history for. Defaults to the
+ *   current user.
+ */
+function history_update($nid, $account = NULL) {
+  global $user;
+
+  if (!isset($account)) {
+    $account = $user;
+  }
+
+  if ($account->uid) {
+    db_merge('history')
+      ->key(array(
+        'uid' => $account->uid,
+        'nid' => $nid,
+      ))
+      ->fields(array('timestamp' => REQUEST_TIME))
+      ->execute();
+   }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Implements hook_node_delete().
+ */
+function history_node_delete(Node $node) {
+  db_delete('history')
+    ->condition('nid', $node->nid)
+    ->execute();
+}
+
+/**
+ * Implements hook_user_cancel().
+ */
+function history_user_cancel($edit, $account, $method) {
+  switch ($method) {
+    case 'user_cancel_reassign':
+      db_delete('history')
+        ->condition('uid', $account->uid)
+        ->execute();
+      break;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Retrieves the timestamp for the current user's last view of a specified node.
+ *
+ * @param int $nid
+ *   A node ID.
+ *
+ * @return int
+ *   If a node has been previously viewed by the user, the timestamp in seconds
+ *   of when the last view occurred; otherwise, zero.
+ */
+function history_node_last_viewed($nid) {
+  global $user;
+  $history = &drupal_static(__FUNCTION__, array());
+
+  if (!isset($history[$nid])) {
+    $history[$nid] = db_query("SELECT timestamp FROM {history} WHERE uid = :uid AND nid = :nid", array(':uid' => $user->uid, ':nid' => $nid))->fetchObject();
+  }
+
+  return (isset($history[$nid]->timestamp) ? $history[$nid]->timestamp : 0);
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/history/history.views.inc b/core/modules/history/history.views.inc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8597cfc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/history/history.views.inc
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Provide views data and handlers for history.module.
+ *
+ * @ingroup views_module_handlers
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Implements hook_views_data().
+ */
+function history_views_data() {
+  // History table
+
+  // We're actually defining a specific instance of the table, so let's
+  // alias it so that we can later add the real table for other purposes if we
+  // need it.
+  $data['history']['table']['group']  = t('Content');
+
+  // Explain how this table joins to others.
+  $data['history']['table']['join'] = array(
+     // Directly links to node table.
+    'node' => array(
+      'table' => 'history',
+      'left_field' => 'nid',
+      'field' => 'nid',
+      'extra' => array(
+        array('field' => 'uid', 'value' => '***CURRENT_USER***', 'numeric' => TRUE),
+      ),
+    ),
+  );
+
+  $data['history']['timestamp'] = array(
+    'title' => t('Has new content'),
+    'field' => array(
+      'id' => 'node_history_user_timestamp',
+      'help' => t('Show a marker if the content is new or updated.'),
+    ),
+    'filter' => array(
+      'help' => t('Show only content that is new or updated.'),
+      'id' => 'node_history_user_timestamp',
+    ),
+  );
+
+  return $data;
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/NodeStorageController.php b/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/NodeStorageController.php
index 3993d24..1a56fe0 100644
--- a/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/NodeStorageController.php
+++ b/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/NodeStorageController.php
@@ -159,9 +159,6 @@ protected function postDelete($nodes) {
     // Delete values from other tables also referencing this node.
     $ids = array_keys($nodes);
 
-    db_delete('history')
-      ->condition('nid', $ids, 'IN')
-      ->execute();
     db_delete('node_access')
       ->condition('nid', $ids, 'IN')
       ->execute();
diff --git a/core/modules/node/node.install b/core/modules/node/node.install
index f9c30a5..c6fd7e6 100644
--- a/core/modules/node/node.install
+++ b/core/modules/node/node.install
@@ -406,36 +406,6 @@ function node_schema() {
     ),
   );
 
-  $schema['history'] = array(
-    'description' => 'A record of which {users} have read which {node}s.',
-    'fields' => array(
-      'uid' => array(
-        'description' => 'The {users}.uid that read the {node} nid.',
-        'type' => 'int',
-        'unsigned' => TRUE,
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => 0,
-      ),
-      'nid' => array(
-        'description' => 'The {node}.nid that was read.',
-        'type' => 'int',
-        'unsigned' => TRUE,
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => 0,
-      ),
-      'timestamp' => array(
-        'description' => 'The Unix timestamp at which the read occurred.',
-        'type' => 'int',
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => 0,
-      ),
-    ),
-    'primary key' => array('uid', 'nid'),
-    'indexes' => array(
-      'nid' => array('nid'),
-    ),
-  );
-
   return $schema;
 }
 
@@ -740,6 +710,15 @@ function node_update_8011() {
 }
 
 /**
+ * Enable History module.
+ */
+function node_update_8012() {
+  // Enable the history module without re-installing the schema.
+  update_module_enable(array('history'));
+}
+
+
+/**
  * @} End of "addtogroup updates-7.x-to-8.x"
  * The next series of updates should start at 9000.
  */
diff --git a/core/modules/node/node.module b/core/modules/node/node.module
index 0b1306a..9575911 100644
--- a/core/modules/node/node.module
+++ b/core/modules/node/node.module
@@ -51,15 +51,6 @@
 const NODE_STICKY = 1;
 
 /**
- * Denotes the time cutoff for nodes marked as read.
- *
- * Nodes changed before this time are always marked as read. Nodes changed after
- * this time may be marked new, updated, or read, depending on their state for
- * the current user. Defaults to 30 days ago.
- */
-define('NODE_NEW_LIMIT', REQUEST_TIME - 30 * 24 * 60 * 60);
-
-/**
  * Denotes that access is allowed for a node.
  *
  * Modules should return this value from hook_node_access() to allow access to a
@@ -183,15 +174,6 @@ function node_theme() {
 }
 
 /**
- * Implements hook_cron().
- */
-function node_cron() {
-  db_delete('history')
-    ->condition('timestamp', NODE_NEW_LIMIT, '<')
-    ->execute();
-}
-
-/**
  * Implements hook_entity_info_alter().
  */
 function node_entity_info_alter(&$info) {
@@ -302,46 +284,6 @@ function node_title_list($result, $title = NULL) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Updates the 'last viewed' timestamp of the specified node for current user.
- *
- * @param Drupal\node\Node $node
- *   A node entity.
- */
-function node_tag_new(Node $node) {
-  global $user;
-  if ($user->uid) {
-    db_merge('history')
-      ->key(array(
-        'uid' => $user->uid,
-        'nid' => $node->nid,
-      ))
-      ->fields(array('timestamp' => REQUEST_TIME))
-      ->execute();
-   }
-}
-
-/**
- * Retrieves the timestamp for the current user's last view of a specified node.
- *
- * @param int $nid
- *   A node ID.
- *
- * @return int
- *   If a node has been previously viewed by the user, the timestamp in seconds
- *   of when the last view occurred; otherwise, zero.
- */
-function node_last_viewed($nid) {
-  global $user;
-  $history = &drupal_static(__FUNCTION__, array());
-
-  if (!isset($history[$nid])) {
-    $history[$nid] = db_query("SELECT timestamp FROM {history} WHERE uid = :uid AND nid = :nid", array(':uid' => $user->uid, ':nid' => $nid))->fetchObject();
-  }
-
-  return (isset($history[$nid]->timestamp) ? $history[$nid]->timestamp : 0);
-}
-
-/**
  * Decides on the type of marker to be displayed for a given node.
  *
  * @param $nid
@@ -356,16 +298,17 @@ function node_mark($nid, $timestamp) {
   global $user;
   $cache = &drupal_static(__FUNCTION__, array());
 
-  if (!$user->uid) {
+  $history_module_enabled = module_exists('history');
+  if (!$user->uid || !$history_module_enabled) {
     return MARK_READ;
   }
-  if (!isset($cache[$nid])) {
-    $cache[$nid] = node_last_viewed($nid);
+  if (!isset($cache[$nid]) && $history_module_enabled) {
+    $cache[$nid] = history_node_last_viewed($nid);
   }
-  if ($cache[$nid] == 0 && $timestamp > NODE_NEW_LIMIT) {
+  if ($cache[$nid] == 0 && $timestamp > HISTORY_READ_LIMIT) {
     return MARK_NEW;
   }
-  elseif ($timestamp > $cache[$nid] && $timestamp > NODE_NEW_LIMIT) {
+  elseif ($timestamp > $cache[$nid] && $timestamp > HISTORY_READ_LIMIT) {
     return MARK_UPDATED;
   }
   return MARK_READ;
@@ -1111,7 +1054,9 @@ function node_show(Node $node, $message = FALSE) {
   $nodes = array('nodes' => node_view_multiple(array($node->nid => $node), 'full'));
 
   // Update the history table, stating that this user viewed this node.
-  node_tag_new($node);
+  if (module_exists('history')) {
+    history_update($node->nid);
+  }
 
   return $nodes;
 }
@@ -1494,10 +1439,6 @@ function node_user_cancel($edit, $account, $method) {
         ->fields(array('uid' => 0))
         ->condition('uid', $account->uid)
         ->execute();
-      // Clean history.
-      db_delete('history')
-        ->condition('uid', $account->uid)
-        ->execute();
       break;
   }
 }
@@ -1519,10 +1460,6 @@ function node_user_predelete($account) {
   foreach ($revisions as $revision) {
     node_revision_delete($revision);
   }
-  // Clean history.
-  db_delete('history')
-    ->condition('uid', $account->uid)
-    ->execute();
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/core/modules/node/node.views.inc b/core/modules/node/node.views.inc
index bf30614..3a396bb 100644
--- a/core/modules/node/node.views.inc
+++ b/core/modules/node/node.views.inc
@@ -640,37 +640,6 @@ function node_views_data() {
     ),
   );
 
-  // History table
-
-  // We're actually defining a specific instance of the table, so let's
-  // alias it so that we can later add the real table for other purposes if we
-  // need it.
-  $data['history']['table']['group']  = t('Content');
-
-  // Explain how this table joins to others.
-  $data['history']['table']['join'] = array(
-     // Directly links to node table.
-    'node' => array(
-      'table' => 'history',
-      'left_field' => 'nid',
-      'field' => 'nid',
-      'extra' => array(
-        array('field' => 'uid', 'value' => '***CURRENT_USER***', 'numeric' => TRUE),
-      ),
-    ),
-  );
-
-  $data['history']['timestamp'] = array(
-    'title' => t('Has new content'),
-    'field' => array(
-      'id' => 'node_history_user_timestamp',
-      'help' => t('Show a marker if the content is new or updated.'),
-    ),
-    'filter' => array(
-      'help' => t('Show only content that is new or updated.'),
-      'id' => 'node_history_user_timestamp',
-    ),
-  );
   return $data;
 }
 
diff --git a/core/modules/system/lib/Drupal/system/Tests/Module/DependencyTest.php b/core/modules/system/lib/Drupal/system/Tests/Module/DependencyTest.php
index c53d225..a1c151a 100644
--- a/core/modules/system/lib/Drupal/system/Tests/Module/DependencyTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/system/lib/Drupal/system/Tests/Module/DependencyTest.php
@@ -134,11 +134,11 @@ function testModuleEnableOrder() {
     $this->assertModules(array('module_test'), TRUE);
     variable_set('dependency_test', 'dependency');
     // module_test creates a dependency chain:
-    // - forum depends on taxonomy, comment, and poll (via module_test)
+    // - forum depends on taxonomy, comment, history, and poll (via module_test)
     // - taxonomy depends on options
     // - poll depends on php (via module_test)
     // The correct enable order is:
-    $expected_order = array('comment', 'options', 'taxonomy', 'php', 'poll', 'forum');
+    $expected_order = array('comment', 'history', 'options', 'taxonomy', 'php', 'poll', 'forum');
 
     // Enable the modules through the UI, verifying that the dependency chain
     // is correct.
@@ -146,14 +146,15 @@ function testModuleEnableOrder() {
     $edit['modules[Core][forum][enable]'] = 'forum';
     $this->drupalPost('admin/modules', $edit, t('Save configuration'));
     $this->assertModules(array('forum'), FALSE);
-    $this->assertText(t('You must enable the Taxonomy, Options, Comment, Poll, PHP Filter modules to install Forum.'));
+    $this->assertText(t('You must enable the History, Taxonomy, Options, Comment, Poll, PHP Filter modules to install Forum.'));
+    $edit['modules[Core][history][enable]'] = 'history';
     $edit['modules[Core][options][enable]'] = 'options';
     $edit['modules[Core][taxonomy][enable]'] = 'taxonomy';
     $edit['modules[Core][comment][enable]'] = 'comment';
     $edit['modules[Core][poll][enable]'] = 'poll';
     $edit['modules[Core][php][enable]'] = 'php';
     $this->drupalPost('admin/modules', $edit, t('Save configuration'));
-    $this->assertModules(array('forum', 'poll', 'php', 'comment', 'taxonomy', 'options'), TRUE);
+    $this->assertModules(array('forum', 'poll', 'php', 'comment', 'history', 'taxonomy', 'options'), TRUE);
 
     // Check the actual order which is saved by module_test_modules_enabled().
     $this->assertIdentical(variable_get('test_module_enable_order', array()), $expected_order);
diff --git a/core/modules/tracker/lib/Drupal/tracker/Tests/TrackerTest.php b/core/modules/tracker/lib/Drupal/tracker/Tests/TrackerTest.php
index 0473d38..189b927 100644
--- a/core/modules/tracker/lib/Drupal/tracker/Tests/TrackerTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/tracker/lib/Drupal/tracker/Tests/TrackerTest.php
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ class TrackerTest extends WebTestBase {
    *
    * @var array
    */
-  public static $modules = array('comment', 'tracker');
+  public static $modules = array('comment', 'tracker', 'history');
 
   /**
    * The main user for testing.
diff --git a/core/modules/user/user.api.php b/core/modules/user/user.api.php
index 8a21ef2..9401476 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/user.api.php
+++ b/core/modules/user/user.api.php
@@ -126,10 +126,6 @@ function hook_user_cancel($edit, $account, $method) {
         ->fields(array('uid' => 0))
         ->condition('uid', $account->uid)
         ->execute();
-      // Clean history.
-      db_delete('history')
-        ->condition('uid', $account->uid)
-        ->execute();
       break;
   }
 }
diff --git a/core/profiles/standard/standard.info b/core/profiles/standard/standard.info
index 4c812d0..9747bd5 100644
--- a/core/profiles/standard/standard.info
+++ b/core/profiles/standard/standard.info
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ description = Install with commonly used features pre-configured.
 version = VERSION
 core = 8.x
 dependencies[] = node
+dependencies[] = history
 dependencies[] = block
 dependencies[] = color
 dependencies[] = config