The four-minute mile

English runner Roger Bannister broke the widely-held assumption that it was impossible for a human to run a mile in under four minutes. He became the first to do this when he ran a mile in 3.594 minutes in Oxford on the May 6, 1954. In addition to being a skilled runner, Bannister used his knowledge as a physician to research the mechanical aspects of running and to develop scientific training methods.
More Famous Firsts