The Higgs boson: the discovery physicists had been waiting for

This article recalls the steps which leaded to the discovery or the confirmation of the existence of the Higgs boson since 1964, and notably highlights how quickly the last experiments have progressed since the end of 2011 (optimization work of the large hadron collider and on sensors). Comments are made about the properties of the newly discovered particle and the questions they raise, notably about black matter. A portrait of Peter Higgs is proposed