The First Immortal

On January 12, 1967, in Glendale, CA, Dr. James Bedford, a 73-year old retired psychology professor and writer, was the first person to undergo cryonic suspension ¹Cryonic suspension, most commonly, but incorrectly, called cryogenics, is the process where a subject is flash frozen to the boiling point of liquid nitrogen, or -320.5°F.. Bedford had been diagnosed with terminal renal cancer and had decided that he wished to be cryonically frozen in the hopes that he would later be able to be revived and cured of his ailment. At the time, Bedford paid out $4200 for a steel capsule and liquid nitrogen to keep his body frozen at about 328°F. He currently resides at Alcor Life Extension Foundation’s facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. ²Large portions of this story came from Time Magazine, Feb. 3, 1967.