Black holes are believed to be part of the life of a star--actually, the end of a star's life. After a star runs out of fuel for nuclear reactions, the outward pressure that was caused by those reactions is no longer there. Soon, the core of the star collapses, and becomes very dense. If the solar mass of the star is more than 1.7, then the star will turn into a black hole. When the mass of the star is not this big, the star turns into a white dwarf or a neutron star.
The black hole was first theorized by Karl Schwarzschild. The German astronomer based his theory on Albert Einstein's 1916 theory of relativity.
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