Roger Bannister

Roger Bannister, born in 1929, British physician and the first athlete in history to run a mile in less than 4 min. Born in Harrow, England, he was educated at the University of Oxford and at Saint Mary's Hospital Medical School. At a meet in Oxford on May 6, 1954, Bannister ran the mile in 3 min 59.4 sec, establishing a world record. This was bettered less than two months later by the Australian athlete John Landy, who set a record of 3 min 58 sec. Bannister defeated Landy in a mile race held at Vancouver, Canada, in August 1954. Although neither set a record, both men again ran the mile in less than 4 min. Bannister retired from athletic competition in December 1954 to practice medicine. He wrote an autobiography, Four Minute Mile, published in 1955, and was knighted in 1975.