Edward IV (28 April 1442 - 9 April 1483) was King of England. A member of the House of York, Edward secured the throne, with the aid of his cousin, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick ("The Kingmaker"), when they defeated the Lancastrians and Warwick gained control of London in 1461. Edward strengthened his claim with a decisive victory at the Battle of Towton in the same year, in the course of which the Lancastrian army was virtually wiped out. He nonetheless was forced from the throne in 1470, but regained it the following year, and held it until his death.