Sir Roger Bannister was born March 23, 1929 in Harrow, Middlesex, England.

He was the first man to break the 4 minute mile barrier, running a 3:59.4 for the distance on May 6, 1954. He was paced to this time by his friends Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher. After he broke through this psycological barrier, he was soon bested by Australian John Landy. When the two met later that year at the British Empire Games in Vancouver, British Columbia Bannister defeated Landy.