The Higgs Boson: From Expectation to Reality

In this colloquium, I will discuss the Higgs Boson, a particle sought for a long time by high energy physicists and finally, apparently, discovered at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The Higgs Boson is often described as the particle necessary to generate mass for all other elementary particles. But, why should such a particle be necessary? Why is the Higgs so important? Why was it so hard to find? What is the evidence that it actually was found? In this lecture, I will answer these questions and address the present and future of the Higgs Boson's story.