First cyclist to ride one mile in under one minute

Charles Minthorn "Mile-a-Minute" Murphy (USA, 1870–1950) became the first person to cycle a mile (1.6 km) in under minute when he pedalled between Farmingdale and Babylon on Long Island in New York, USA, on 30 June 1899. The feat took him 57.8 seconds, a time he achieved by slipstreaming behind a railroad boxcar. Locomotive 39 was driven at 112.6 km/h (70 mi/h) by engineer Sam Booth. Ten-inch-wide (25.4-cm) wooden planks were laid between the tracks along two miles of railway line, and a wooden "hood" was constructed over the back of the last railway car as a wind-shield to eliminate suction and wind pressure.

The official referee was James E Sullivan. Murphy wrote of his experience: "I was riding in a maelstrom of whirling dust, cinders, paper and other small particles of matter. The whipsaw feeling, through a veritable storm of fire, became harder every second."