Violation of the combined symmetry CP of parity (P) and charge
conjugation (C), considered as responsible for the creation of the
matter-dominant universe, has first been observed in 1964 as a small
effect in neutral kaon decays. The Standard Model of particle physics
describes CP violation and predicts large asymmetries in the decays of
neutral beauty (B0) mesons. I will report on studies of B0 mesons
performed with the BaBar experiment at the Stanford Linear Accelerator
Center that lead to the first observation of CP violation 37 years
after its discovery in kaon decays.