Englishman Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile at Oxford — 3:59.4. Bannister’s record lasted only 46 days, when Australian John Landy ran 3:58.0. The current world record is 3:43.13
The four-minute-mile was such a symbolic barrier that Bannister was Sports Illustrated’s first ever Sportsman of the Year.
Bannister retired from running at the end of 1954 and ultimately became a neurologist.