Do you just need to redirect that one specific request (for /wp-content/uploads/2010/12/history.pdf to /about/history.pdf)? Or do you need to to handle many requests (say, for /wp-content/uploads/2010/12/* to /about/*)?
If it’s the former, use a symbolic link (or, if you’re not on Unix/Linux/BSD, whatever equivalent your OS offers). If it’s the latter, use mod_rewrite (or, if you’re not using Apache, whatever equivalent your Web server offers).