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{{Infobox military person
| name = T. B. M. Mason
| birth_name = Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason
| birth_date = {{birth date|1848|5|8}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1899|10|15|1848|5|8}}
| birth_place =
| death_place = [[Saugerties (town), New York|Saugerties]], New York, US
| placeofburial = [[Green-Wood Cemetery]]
| placeofburial_label = Place of burial
| image = Image:TBMMason.jpg
| caption =
| nickname =
| allegiance = {{Flag|United States of America|1899}}
| branch = {{flag|United States Navy}}
| serviceyears = 1864–94
| rank = [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant commander]]
| commands = Office of Naval Intelligence
| unit = {{USS|Guerriere|1865|6}}, {{USS|Pensacola|1859|6}}, {{USS|Macedonian|1836|6}}, {{USS|Savannah|1842|6}}, {{USS|Dale|1839|6}}, {{USS|Essex|1874|6}}, {{USS|Trenton|1876|6}},<ref name=notable/> {{USS|Brooklyn|1858|6}}, {{USS|New York|ACR-2|6}}<ref name=Julian-James>{{cite book|last1=Julian-James|first1=Cassie Mason Myers|title=Biographical Sketches of the Bailey-Myers-Mason Families, 1776 to 1905: Key to a Cabinet of Heirlooms in the National Museum, Washington|date=1908|publisher=Villa Pax|location=Washington D.C.|pages=59–74|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwY5AAAAMAAJ}}</ref>
| battles =
| awards = [[Order of the Rose]]<ref name=notable/>
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
⚫
'''Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason''' (May 8, 1848 – October 15, 1899) was the founder and first head of the United States [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], with the post of Chief Intelligence Officer (prior to it being redesignated as [[Office of Naval Intelligence|Director of Naval Intelligence]] in 1911).


⚫
Mason came from a distinguished [[New York (state)|New York]] family. He was the son of [[Theodorus Bailey Myers]], who was a lawyer and served as a [[colonel]] in the [[United States Army]] during the [[U.S. Civil War|Civil War]]; his uncle, Rear Adm. [[Theodorus Bailey (naval officer)|Theodorus Bailey]], served under [[David Farragut|Admiral David Farragut]] in [[New Orleans]]. He adopted the last name Mason in deference to his maternal grandfather Sidney Mason, who had no male heirs to carry on the family name.
[[Image:TBMMason.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Theodorus B.M. Mason]]


⚫
A graduate of the [[United States Naval Academy]] in 1868, Mason was a distinguished linguist with an inquisitive mind, qualities that gave him respect and recognition in the Navy. After a stint in the [[Hydrographic Office]], he travelled extensively in [[Europe]] and [[South America]] as a naval observer collecting ideas on naval intelligence systems; he knew what information was available and how to obtain it. He recognized that in order for the Navy to compete with its European counterparts, research in naval science and technology should be encouraged; as part of this objective, a unified intelligence agency was needed to gather information on foreign developments for proper dissemination and coordination with the different Bureaus. He made these recommendations upon the request of [[Secretary of the Navy]] [[William H. Hunt]].
⚫
'''Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason''' ([[May 8]], [[1848]]-1899) was the founder and first head of the [[USA]] [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], with the post of Chief Intelligence Officer (prior to it being redesignated as [[Director of Naval Intelligence]] in 1911).


⚫
Hunt read and agreed with most of Lt. Mason's recommendations, and consequently issued General Order No. 292 on March 23, 1882, establishing the Office of Naval Intelligence as part of the [[Bureau of Navigation]], with Mason himself as its first "Chief Intelligence Officer". He assumed this post in June 1882. The Office was initially assigned to a small office in the State, War and Navy Building (now the [[Old Executive Office Building]]).
⚫
Mason came from a distinguished [[New York (state)|New York]] family. He was the son of Theodorus Bailey Myers, who was a lawyer and served as a [[colonel]] in the [[United States Army]] during the [[U.S. Civil War|Civil War]]; his uncle, Rear Adm. [[Theodorus Bailey (naval officer)|Theodorus Bailey]], served under [[David Farragut|Admiral David Farragut]] in [[New Orleans]]. He was given the last name Mason in deference to his maternal grandfather, who had no male heirs to carry on the family name.

⚫
A graduate of the [[United States Naval Academy]] in 1868, Mason was a distinguished linguist with an inquisitive mind, qualities that gave him respect and recognition in the Navy. After a stint in the [[Hydrographic Office]], he travelled extensively in [[Europe]] and [[South America]] as a naval observer collecting ideas on naval intelligence systems; he knew what information was available and how to obtain it. He recognized that in order for the Navy to compete with its European counterparts, research in naval science and technology should be encouraged; as part of this objective, a unified intelligence agency was needed to gather information on foreign developments for proper dissemination and coordination with the different Bureaus. He made these recommendations upon the request of [[Secretary of the Navy]] [[William H. Hunt]].

⚫
Hunt read and agreed with most of Lt. Mason's recommendations, and consequently issued General Order No. 292 on [[March 23]], [[1882]], establishing the Office of Naval Intelligence as part of the [[Bureau of Navigation]], with Mason himself as its first "Chief Intelligence Officer". He assumed this post on June 1882. The Office was initially assigned to a small office in the State, War and Navy Building (now the [[Old Executive Office Building]]).


Despite initial difficulties, the different Bureaus recognized its value and used it to share information amongst themselves and used this information in justifying funds needed for Navy expansion and modernization.
Despite initial difficulties, the different Bureaus recognized its value and used it to share information amongst themselves and used this information in justifying funds needed for Navy expansion and modernization.


Mason clearly guided the ONI well during its first years, and was succeeded by [[Raymond P. Rodgers|Lt. Raymond P. Rodgers]] in April 1885. He retired from the Navy in 1894 as a [[lieutenant commander]] and died five years later. He is interred in [[Green-Wood Cemetery]] in [[Brooklyn, NY]].
Mason clearly guided the ONI well during its first years, and was succeeded by [[Raymond P. Rodgers|Lt. Raymond P. Rodgers]] in April 1885. He was promoted to [[lieutenant commander]] in January 1894, and retired from the Navy in December due to ill health.<ref name=Julian-James/> He died in [[Saugerties (town), New York|Saugerties]] on 15 October 1899<ref name=notable>{{cite news|title=End of a Notable Career|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1899-10-16/ed-1/seq-3/|work=Evening Star|date=16 October 1899|location=Washington, D.C.|page=3}}</ref> and was interred in the Mason family mausoleum at the [[Green-Wood Cemetery]] in [[Brooklyn, NY]].<ref name=Julian-James/><ref>[https://www.green-wood.com/2015/civil-war-biographies-mason-mckeon/ Green-Wood Cemetery]</ref>


Mason wrote one such account<ref>''The War of the Pacific Coast of South America Between Chile and the Allied Republics of Peru and Bolivia''. 1879-'81. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883).</ref>in which he described the belligerents of the [[Atacama Border Dispute]]. As stated above, he was resourceful and reports that the material used for the paper was derived from personal observation, from apparently authentic publications, and from other Naval officers within the region at the time of the conflict. Mason's work is a chronology of events leading up to, during, and the outcome of the [[War of the Pacific]].
In ''The [[War of the Pacific]] Coast of South America Between [[Chile]] and the Allied Republics of [[Peru]] and [[Bolivia]]'',<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mason|first1=Theodorus Bailey Myers|title=The War of the Pacific Coast of South America Between Chile and the Allied Republics of Peru and Bolivia|date=1885|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://archive.org/details/waronpacificcoa00masogoog}}</ref> Mason wrote one such account in which he described the belligerents of the [[Atacama border dispute]]. As stated above, he was resourceful and reports that the material used for the paper was derived from personal observation, from apparently authentic publications, and from other Naval officers within the region at the time of the conflict. Mason's work is a chronology of events leading up to, during, and the outcome of the War of the Pacific.


==Personal life==
⚫
{{start box}}
[[File:Mrs. Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason (page 175 crop).jpg|left|thumb|Edmonia Taylor Phelps]]
⚫
{{succession box | title=Head of the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]<br>(Chief Intelligence Officer)| before=None | after=[[Raymond P. Rodgers]] | years=June 1882&ndash;April 1885}}
In 1875, Mason married Edmonia Taylor Phelps (February 1, 1858 – July 10, 1909), daughter of Rear Admiral [[Thomas Phelps|Thomas S. Phelps]].<ref name=Julian-James/><ref name=Marriage>{{cite news|title=Wives of Naval Officers|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1889-05-18/ed-1/seq-9/|work=Evening Star|date=18 May 1889|location=Washington, D.C.|page=9}}</ref>
⚫
{{end box}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{cite book|last1=Weber|first1=Christen M.|editor1-last=Thomas|editor1-first=Joseph|title=Leadership Embodied: The Secrets to Success of the Most Effective Navy|date=2014|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|isbn=9781612513331|page=39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0FwjBQAAQBAJ}}

⚫
{{S-start}}
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{{succession box | title=Head of the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]<br>(Chief Intelligence Officer)| before=None | after=[[Raymond P. Rodgers]] | years=June 1882 – April 1885}}
⚫
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Theodorus Bailey Myers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Theodorus Bailey Myers}}
[[Category:1848 births]]
[[Category:1848 births]]
[[Category:1899 deaths]]
[[Category:1899 deaths]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy graduates]]
[[Category:Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:United States Navy officers]]
[[Category:United States Navy officers]]
[[Category:Directors of the Office of Naval Intelligence]]
[[Category:People from Saugerties, New York]]

Latest revision as of 00:52, 21 April 2024

T. B. M. Mason
Birth nameTheodorus Bailey Myers Mason
Born(1848-05-08)May 8, 1848
DiedOctober 15, 1899(1899-10-15) (aged 51)
Saugerties, New York, US
Place of burial
Green-Wood Cemetery
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service1864–94
RankLieutenant commander
UnitUSS Guerriere, USS Pensacola, USS Macedonian, USS Savannah, USS Dale, USS Essex, USS Trenton,[1] USS Brooklyn, USS New York[2]
Commands heldOffice of Naval Intelligence
AwardsOrder of the Rose[1]

Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason (May 8, 1848 – October 15, 1899) was the founder and first head of the United States Office of Naval Intelligence, with the post of Chief Intelligence Officer (prior to it being redesignated as Director of Naval Intelligence in 1911).

Mason came from a distinguished New York family. He was the son of Theodorus Bailey Myers, who was a lawyer and served as a colonel in the United States Army during the Civil War; his uncle, Rear Adm. Theodorus Bailey, served under Admiral David Farragut in New Orleans. He adopted the last name Mason in deference to his maternal grandfather Sidney Mason, who had no male heirs to carry on the family name.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy in 1868, Mason was a distinguished linguist with an inquisitive mind, qualities that gave him respect and recognition in the Navy. After a stint in the Hydrographic Office, he travelled extensively in Europe and South America as a naval observer collecting ideas on naval intelligence systems; he knew what information was available and how to obtain it. He recognized that in order for the Navy to compete with its European counterparts, research in naval science and technology should be encouraged; as part of this objective, a unified intelligence agency was needed to gather information on foreign developments for proper dissemination and coordination with the different Bureaus. He made these recommendations upon the request of Secretary of the Navy William H. Hunt.

Hunt read and agreed with most of Lt. Mason's recommendations, and consequently issued General Order No. 292 on March 23, 1882, establishing the Office of Naval Intelligence as part of the Bureau of Navigation, with Mason himself as its first "Chief Intelligence Officer". He assumed this post in June 1882. The Office was initially assigned to a small office in the State, War and Navy Building (now the Old Executive Office Building).

Despite initial difficulties, the different Bureaus recognized its value and used it to share information amongst themselves and used this information in justifying funds needed for Navy expansion and modernization.

Mason clearly guided the ONI well during its first years, and was succeeded by Lt. Raymond P. Rodgers in April 1885. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in January 1894, and retired from the Navy in December due to ill health.[2] He died in Saugerties on 15 October 1899[1] and was interred in the Mason family mausoleum at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY.[2][3]

In The War of the Pacific Coast of South America Between Chile and the Allied Republics of Peru and Bolivia,[4] Mason wrote one such account in which he described the belligerents of the Atacama border dispute. As stated above, he was resourceful and reports that the material used for the paper was derived from personal observation, from apparently authentic publications, and from other Naval officers within the region at the time of the conflict. Mason's work is a chronology of events leading up to, during, and the outcome of the War of the Pacific.

Personal life[edit]

Edmonia Taylor Phelps

In 1875, Mason married Edmonia Taylor Phelps (February 1, 1858 – July 10, 1909), daughter of Rear Admiral Thomas S. Phelps.[2][5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "End of a Notable Career". Evening Star. Washington, D.C. 16 October 1899. p. 3.
  2. ^ a b c d Julian-James, Cassie Mason Myers (1908). Biographical Sketches of the Bailey-Myers-Mason Families, 1776 to 1905: Key to a Cabinet of Heirlooms in the National Museum, Washington. Washington D.C.: Villa Pax. pp. 59–74.
  3. ^ Green-Wood Cemetery
  4. ^ Mason, Theodorus Bailey Myers (1885). The War of the Pacific Coast of South America Between Chile and the Allied Republics of Peru and Bolivia. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  5. ^ "Wives of Naval Officers". Evening Star. Washington, D.C. 18 May 1889. p. 9.

External links[edit]

Weber, Christen M. (2014). Thomas, Joseph (ed.). Leadership Embodied: The Secrets to Success of the Most Effective Navy. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. 39. ISBN 9781612513331.

Preceded by
None
 Head of the Office of Naval Intelligence
(Chief Intelligence Officer)
June 1882 – April 1885 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Theodorus_B._M._Mason&oldid=1219968735"