Jeanne Calment is listed as the longest-living (verified) human being in history. She was born on February 21, 1875 and died on 4 August 1997, at the age of 122 years, 164 days (or 44,724 days). Now that record has been surpassed – if cryopreservation works as a means of extending his life. Dr. James Bedford, who was cryogenically frozen in 1967 and became the first person cryogenically frozen for cryonics purposes, is maintained along with other cryopreserved patients at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation. James Bedford frozen in liquid nitrogen was born April 20, 1893. On October 3, 2015, his age in days equaled 44,725 – and we are still counting, of course!
It is true that Bedford is not currently, legally alive. But neither is he known to be dead. When Alcor transferred him from an old, customized vessel back in 1991, it was clear that the original ice cubes were intact. We have no good information on the quality of his ultrastructural preservation. But we can say that he has remained cryopreserved since the day of his cardiac arrest in 1967, and so deserves the title of LONGEST-SURVIVING HUMAN BEING IN HISTORY!
