On this day in 1982 an ailing Seattle dentist Barney Clark became the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart at the University of Utah. The 61 year old was suffering from congestive heart failure. It was determined that heart was too ill to get a heart transplant. He would survive the new artificial  heart and live another 106 days. Clark knew his long term chances were not good for surviving but agreed to undergo the transplant to help further medical science.