Rehovot was founded in 1890, in the coastal plain relatively sparsely settled by Arabs, by Polish Jews who wanted a township independent of the Baron Edmond James de Rothschild's aid and management. Israel Belkind, one of the original founders of the settlement, proposed the name Rehovot (lit. 'wide expanses') based on Genesis 26:22 : "And he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said: 'For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.'" The name was accepted. In 1908 they were joined by immigrants from Yemen, who settled in the city's Sha'arayim district. These early settlers planted vineyards, almondorchards and citrus groves. They withstood agricultural failures, plant diseases, and marketing problems.
An agricultural research station that opened in Rehovot in 1932 became the Department of Agriculture of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1934 Chaim Weizmann established the Sieff Institute, which became the Weizmann Institute of Science. In 1937 Weizmann built his home on the land purchased adjacent to the Sieff Institute. The house later served as the presidential residence after Weizmann became president in 1948. Weizmann and his wife are buried on the grounds of the institute.
On 29 February 1948 the Lehi blew up the Cairo to Haifa train shortly after it left Rehovoth killing 29 British soldiers and injuring 35 as well as 100 civilians. The Lehi announcement said the bombing was in retaliation for the Ben Yehuda Street Bombing a week
