Dr. James Hiram Bedford, a World War I veteran and University of California professor, became the first person to undergo cryonic preservation—a process of freezing a body at extremely low temperatures after death. Diagnosed with kidney cancer that spread to his lungs in 1967, Bedford turned to this experimental procedure, inspired by Dr. Robert Ettinger’s book *The Prospect of Immortality*.
Bedford requested his body be frozen after his death. On January 12, 1967, he was injected with dimethyl sulfoxide to protect his organs before his blood was drained. His body was then placed in liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Celsius.
In 1991, Alcor, a cryonics organization, examined Bedford’s condition. His body was well-preserved—“his face looked younger than his 73 years,” though his corneas appeared “chalky white,” and his chest and neck skin were discolored.
Despite this preservation, Bedford remains frozen over 50 years later, described as a “mummy.”
His final words reflected his true motive: “I did not do this with the thought that I would be revived… I did this in the hope that one day my descendants will benefit from this wonderful scientific solution.”
