For myself, I think the human element is what I find fascinating. Hearing other people's stories makes me think, I could do that. I also find it inspiring to read about great minds, and where we have come from.
There was only one interpreter I believe. It was called shell.
At some point, I started to notice that we're all showing up "in the middle of the story", so to speak, and stories about the past are immensely helpful for putting the current moment into context. This is true for what we think of as "textbook history", like the history of politics and war and the rise and fall of nations, to put current world events in context, but it's perhaps even more valuable for smaller things that matter to us more immediately in day-to-day life.
I have found that reading about the history of a scientific or mathematical field helps the ideas stick much better when trying to study. Learning about my parents' and grandparents' lives before I was born made some aspects of my childhood make a lot more sense. And reading about the history of the software and tools we use helps illuminate some of the design decisions and tradeoffs that were made.
For me, that shift didn't happen until I was well into adulthood, and I suspect that's common. I think once you reach a point where parts of your own life feel like "history", like a prelude for where you currently are, then it's a lot easier to notice the value of history in other areas.
In my day job I spend my time adding components to a company's website. It pays my bills and keeps a (comfortable) roof over my daughter's head but I'm under no illusion that going this route will accomplish anything that puts a dent in the universe like these legends of industry.