Hal Finney passed away on August 28, 2014 at the age of 58, after a five-year struggle with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). He was the first person besides Satoshi Nakamoto to run Bitcoin, mined some of the earliest blocks, and was the recipient of the first Bitcoin transaction on January 12, 2009, when Satoshi sent him 10 bitcoins as a test.
Hal was a pioneering cryptographer who worked on PGP with Phil Zimmermann, ran the first cryptographically based anonymous remailer, and created RPOW (Reusable Proofs of Work). His body was cryopreserved by the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, per his wishes.