I see factual articles exploring history or other academic subjects boosted all the time. I actually went outside my specialty a few weeks ago and nominated an article about science, written by a well known science educator. It was boosted.

In cases like this, personal experience doesn't really come in. It's not particularly relevant.

However, writers should be aware that Medium employs subject-matter expert as curators. So, if you're writing about history or science (among other technical subjects) then the story needs to be credible and meet standards of evidence normally applied to popular writers who write about academic subjects for non-experts. You often do that well, I've noticed.

Of course, this is a major writing genre. And at least two of Medium's most popular writers fit this niche. So, go for it. Just understand that the rules are a little different sometimes.

Also, I could mention Linda Carroll, who writes about history more than anything else, but who DOES get personal about it. She is far and away one of the most-read writers on Medium.

That's just me pointing out that there's more than one way to skin a cat.