  Although dark matter is a central element of modern cosmology, the history of
how it became accepted as part of the dominant paradigm is often ignored or
condensed into a brief anecdotical account focused around the work of a few
pioneering scientists. The aim of this review is to provide the reader with a
broader historical perspective on the observational discoveries and the
theoretical arguments that led the scientific community to adopt dark matter as
an essential part of the standard cosmological model.
