Edward IV (1442-1483) was the first Yorkist king of England. His reforms and innovations invigorated 15th-century English government.

Born at Rouen on April 28, 1442, Edward IV was the son of Richard, Duke of York, and Cecily Neville. He took part in the Wars of the Roses from the first battle at St. Albans (1455), and in 1460 he accompanied Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (the "Kingmaker"), and the Calais garrison when Warwick invaded England and raised rebels in Kent and in the north demanding "good government." The success of this uprising established Richard of York as regent and heir of the ineffective Henry VI of Lancaster, but Henry's queen, Margaret of Anjou, did not accept this political disinheritance of their son, Prince Edward of Lancaster. Her Army of the North defeated and killed Richard of York at Wakefield (Dec. 30, 1460). Margaret's success in liberating Henry VI and her failure to attack London...