Peter S Magnusson personal blog

Why are there 5280 feet in a mile? (2009)

by @petersmagnusson petersmagnusson.org published 2009-09-16

The original Roman mile was 1000 paces (milia passuum), or 5000 feet. The modern mile was defined as 5280 feet under Queen Elizabeth at the end of the 16th century in order to reconcile multiple di…

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