Bannister, Sir Roger (1929-2018), a British athlete, became the first man to run a mile in less than four minutes. He ran a mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds, at Oxford, England, on May 6, 1954. His record was broken a month later by John Landy, an Australian. Bannister defeated Landy in a mile race in August 1954. Bannister’s time was 3 minutes 58.8 seconds, and Landy’s was 3 minutes 59.6 seconds. Bannister retired from athletic competition in 1955 to practice medicine. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975. Bannister was born on March 23, 1929, in Harrow, England. He died on March 3, 2018.
