May 6: Oxford, England. Iffley Road Track: Oxford medical student Roger Bannister runs the mile in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds. At an official meet between British AA and Oxford University, before a crowd of 3,000 spectators.
The race was broadcast live by the BBC, as the historic 4–minute barrier was known to be under assault by Bannister.
Bannister (born in Harrow, England in 1929) went on to become Sir Roger Bannister (1995), a distinguished neurologist and medical innovator, and a Master of Pembroke College, Oxford.
Bannister – “I found longer racing boring; [so] the mile was just perfect.”