Hillary Clinton has cemented her position as the presumptive Democratic nominee, seizing her place in history as the first woman to contest a US presidential election at the head of a major political party. The former Secretary of State cruised to victory in four of the week’s six state primaries including, crucially, California – where her rival, Bernie Sanders, had hoped to fuel his flagging campaign.

When she conceded defeat to Barack Obama at the end of a long and gruelling primary season in 2008, Ms Clinton expressed regret that she had been unable to “shatter that highest and hardest glass ceiling”, the presidential nomination. Reaching for history, Mrs. Clinton pledged to build on the achievements of pioneers like the 19th-century leaders at Seneca Falls, N.Y., who began the fight for women’s rights in America.

Describing her nomination as a “milestone”, Ms Clinton harked back to the history of women’s rights, including the Seneca Falls convention of 1848 and the passing of the 19th Amendment in 1919, which gave women the vote. Serving US President Barack Obama called Clinton to congratulate her on securing enough delegates to clinch the nomination.

Sanders has vowed to continue his campaign to next week’s primary in Washington DC and further to the convention held in Philadelphia on July 25.