On This Day in:

1461 – Edward IV secured his claim to the English thrown by defeating Henry VI’s Lancastrians at the battle of Towdon.

1638 – First permanent European settlement in Delaware was established.

1847 – U.S. troops under General Winfield Scott took possession of the Mexican stronghold at Vera Cruz.

1848 – Niagara Falls stopped flowing for one day due to an ice jam.

1867 – The British Parliament passed the North America Act to create the Dominion of Canada.

1882 – The Knights of Columbus organization was granted a charter by the State of Connecticut.

1901 – The first federal elections were held in Australia.

1903 – A regular news service began between New York and London on Marconi's wireless.

1906 – In the U.S., 500,000 coal miners walked off the job seeking higher wages.

1913 – The Reichstag announced a raise in taxes in order to finance the new military budget.

1916 – The Italians call off the fifth attack on Isonzo.

1932 – Jack Benny made his radio debut.

1936 – Italy firebombed the Ethiopian city of Harar.

1941 – The British sank five Italian warships off the Peloponnesus coast in the Mediterranean.

1943 – In the U.S. rationing of meat, butter and cheese began during World War II.

1946 – Fiorella LaGuardia became the director general of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Organization.

1946 – Gold Coast became the first British colony to hold an African parliamentary majority.

1951 – The Chinese reject MacArthur's offer for a truce in Korea.

1951 – In the United States, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. They were executed in June 19,