First person to be cryonically suspended

The first human to be cryonically suspended after death was retired psychology professor Dr James Hiram Bedford (USA, 20 April 1893–12 January 1967), who was cryopreserved upon his "de-animation" (i.e., death) from kidney and lung cancer by the Cryonics Society of California. He was placed in a "dewar" containing liquid nitrogen at -196°C and taken to the Cryo-Care Equipment Corporation in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. On 25 May 1991, after being relocated various times owing to the cost of storage and in order to defend against legal challenges to have him defrosted and interred, Dr Bedford was transferred from his original dewar to a new higher-tech chamber, giving the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, the opportunity to assess his state of preservation; he was described as "a well-developed, well nourished male who appears younger than his 73 years".

Dr Bedford was first transferred to a new dewar in 1969, when he was moved from Arizona to a warehouse owned by Galiso Inc. in California. His widow and son fought off various legal challenges from other family members to have Bedford buried, resulting in numerous changes of location. In 1994, fearing damage to their dewars from earthquakes, the Alcor team moved all of their "cryonauts" – including Bedford – from California to Scottsdale, Arizona, where they reside to this day.