Birth of John de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, only son of William de la Pole and Alice Chaucer.

As a child, John was married Margaret Beaufort, but the marriage contract was dissolved in February 1453 by Henry VI.  In 1458 he married instead Elizabeth, the daughter of Richard, duke of York, and Cecily Neville, a sister of Edward IV and Richard III.  They had 11 children.

Reference:

Michael Hicks, ‘Pole, John de la, second duke of Suffolk (1442–1492)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.  [accessed online 30 Aug. 2015]

Tags: Alice Chaucer, de la Pole

Battle of Blore Heath, Staffordshire, first major battle of the Wars of the Roses, won by the Yorkist forces under Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, against the Lancastrians under James Touchet, 5th Baron Audley, who fell in the battle.

A short description of the various battles of the Wars of the Roses can be found on the website of the Richard III Society.

Tags: Battles

Birth of Anna von Kleve (Anne of Cleves).  She was the second of the children of Johann (III), duke of Jülich-Kleve (1490–1539), and Maria (1491–1543), heir of Jülich.

She married in 1539 Henry VIII as his fourth wife.  He took a dislike to her and they were divorced 1540.  She survived Henry by 10 years and died on 16 July 1557.

Reference:

Retha M. Warnicke, ‘Anne [Anne of Cleves] (1515–1557)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.  [accessed online 31 Aug. 2015]

Tags: Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII

Statue of Edward IV on the gate of Magdalen College, Oxford (D. Preis)

Edward IV visits Oxford University and stays at Magdalen College on the invitation by the college’s founder, William Waynflete, bishop of Winchester.  The king arrived after sunset with a large company, innumerable torches burning before them. They spent the night and much of the next day at the College, where he listened to a brief speech congratulating him on his arrival and petitioning his support.  A statue of Edward on the gate commemorates his visit.

Reference:

Robert C Hairsine, “Oxford University and the Life and Legend of Richard III”, in:  Richard III:  Crown and People, ed. by J Petre, Richard III Society, 1985, pp. 307-332

Dorothea Preis

Tags: Edward IV, Oxfordshire

Enthronement of George Neville (brother of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, ‘The Kingmaker’) to the Archbishopric of York.  Around that time  Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III), began his time as page with Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (‘The Kingmaker), at Middleham.  It is assumed that he stayed with Richard Neville until January 1469.

Tags: Nevilles, Richard III

Birth of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York (father of Edward IV and Richard III)

Tags: Richard Duke of York

Birth of Arthur, Prince of Wales, first son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York (daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville) at Winchester.

Tags: Elizabeth of York, Henry Tudor

Death of John Morton, a politician and cleric, at Knole House, Kent, and was buried at Canterbury Cathedral.

He was born in c. 1420 in Dorset.  He was appointed Bishop of Ely by Edward IV on 8 August 1479.  He was a scheming adversary to Richard III and supporter of Henry Tudor.  After Tudor came to power, he made him Archbishop of Canterbury on 6 October 1486.

Reference:

Christopher Harper-Bill, ‘Morton, John (d. 1500)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.  [accessed online:  30 April 2011]

Tags: Contemporaries

After having been imprisoned by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (‘The Kingmaker’), following the Battle of Edgecote, Edward IV is in York making autonomous decisions again.

Tags: Edward IV