• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Odds / Where did the mile come from and Who decided the length of a mile?

Where did the mile come from and Who decided the length of a mile?

July 4, 2020 by Karen Hill

The statutory mile (as opposed to the slightly longer nautical mile) has an unlikely and seemingly arbitrary length of 5,280 feet. The measurement derives from ancient Rome.

As walking was then the primary mode of transportation, the Romans measured a distance in paces-2 steps to the pace, a pace spanning about 5 feet, thus milia passum, 1,000 paces, measured 5,000 feet.

This Roman mile seems logical and might have prevailed had not the British Parliament, which established all kinds of measurements over the years, decided in the 16th century to tack on some more footage.

Parliament announced the mile to be 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet, so that it could be divided evenly into furlongs, the most common land measurement of the time. A furlong was the length of a plowed furrow in an ordinary field-660 feet, and thus there were 8 furlongs to the mile.

The purpose of the change was to facilitate surveying, and Elizabeth I proclaimed it the law in 1575.

Related Facts

  • Why Is a Country Mile Longer Than the Average Mile and Where Did the Term Come From?
  • Why is the Mile 5280 Feet instead of an even 5000 Feet and how many Furlongs are in a Mile?
  • Who decided that December 25 was Christmas and How did the religious event originate?
  • Where Did the Word "Long" Come From and Why Does it Mean Length and a Period Of Time?
  • Why Is Christmas Celebrated on December 25th and How Was the Date For Christmas Decided?
  • How Is the Correct Time Decided?

Filed Under: Odds

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How did the ancient Egyptians build the Great Pyramid at Giza?
Next Post: What did King Louis XIV of France Eat and How did the Sun King Dine? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy