Saul Kent

Saul Kent is a life extension activist, and co-founder of the Life Extension Foundation, a dietary supplement vendor and promoter of anti-aging research. He is also a pioneer in the practice of cryonics, and is a former board member of the cryonics organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation, which has no connection to the Life Extension Foundation.

Career

Cryonics

Kent became a cryonics activist while a college student, upon hearing Robert Ettinger on a radio show appearance and subsequently reading Ettinger's book The Prospect of Immortality shortly after it was published in 1964.[1] Kent helped form the New York City branch of Evan Cooper's Life Extension Society (LES). Mr. Kent and others became frustrated with LES when Cooper refused to give names and addresses to the New York group of New Yorkers who had contacted Cooper.

Cryonics Society of New York

In August 1965 they formed the Cryonics Society of New York that included Kent, a lawyer Curtis Henderson and industrial designer Karl Werner. At the meeting, Karl Werner coined the word "cryonics", and the new organization was called the Cryonics Society of New York (CSNY). In 1966, CSNY began publishing Cryonics Reports magazine, with Saul Kent as its editor.

From the mid-1960s to 1980, Saul Kent wrote articles and books, directed conferences, and was interviewed by the media about the possibility of extending the healthy human lifespan and the scientific research that supports this possibility. During that period, he had two books published: Future Sex[2] and The Life-Extension Revolution.[3] His third book, Your Personal Life Extension Program, was published in 1985.[4]

Life Extension Foundation

In 1977 he established the Florida Cryonics Association as a public charity with the stated purpose of promoting cryobiology research.[5] In 1980, Kent started the Life Extension Foundation, a membership organization that claims to inform people about the latest advances in the life extension sciences, sell dietary supplements, and fund life extension research by offering grants to scientists in universities and by supporting startup biotech companies.[6]

In 1988, Saul Kent made national headlines because he cryopreserved the head of his deceased mother, which the authorities were unable to locate for autopsy.[7][8]

Timeship

Kent, together with Bill Faloon are involved in a project called Timeship, which involves building a facility designed by an architect Stephen Valentine (starting from 1997) to house companies conducting research in the life extension and reanimation sciences and provide long-term care for cryopreserved humans. The Timeship Project, when built, will be located at the Stasis Foundation Biotechnology Research Park, in Comfort, Texas, on a sprawling 646 acre property formerly known as the Bildarth Estate.[9] Since 2010, more than one million dollars has been spent on both building renovations and upgrades to the infrastructure. A comprehensive master plan, including architectural site models, is underway. One of the most advanced 3D virtual reality simulations of the property and its proposed structures has already been completed.[10]

In 2000, Kent appeared on documentary filmmaker Errol Morris' television series First Person, where he discussed in depth his beliefs and motivations, as well as the investigation into the cryopreservation of his own mother's head so her brain could be restored at a later date.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Regis, Ed (1991). Great Mambo Chicken And The Transhuman Condition: Science Slightly Over The Edge. Westview Press. pp. 88–89. ISBN 0-201-56751-2.
  2. ↑ (Warner, 1974) (ASIN B0006W5IRC)
  3. ↑ (Morrow, 1980) ( ISBN 0-688-01952-8)
  4. ↑ (Morrow) ( ISBN 0-688-00629-9)
  5. ↑ http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/bill-faloon-and-saul-kent-major-figures-in-cryonics-movement-start-a-church-in-hollywood-6969096
  6. ↑ Rose, Steve (2004-01-23). "Stephen Valentine talks about the battle to conquer death". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  7. ↑ McGarry and Sahagun, T.W. and Louis (13 January 1988). "Officials Raid Frozen-Body Lab Again". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  8. ↑ Perry, R (2000). Forever for all : moral philosophy, cryonics, and the scientific prospects for immortality. United States: Universal Publishers. ISBN 978-1581127249. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  9. ↑ https://www.ft.com/content/6c272954-1ebf-11e7-b7d3-163f5a7f229c
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
  11. ↑ OriginalMindTrick (September 9, 2009). "I Dismember Mama - Saul Kent, promoter of cryogenic immortality Part 1". Errol Morris tv series First Person. YouTube. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
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