Theodorus B. M. Mason

Theodorus B. M. Mason

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).

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 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.

Mason clearly guided the ONI well during its first years, and was succeeded by 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 wrote one such account ["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).] 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.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mason (surname) — Mason is an occupational surname of English origin,[1] and may refer to many people: Contents: Top · 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z …   Wikipedia

  • Theodorus van der Croon — Erzbischof Theodorus van der Croon, um 1733 Theodorus van der Croon (* 7. Juni 1668; † 9. Juni 1739), war der dritte alt katholische Erzbischof von Utrecht. Er wurde am 22. Juli 1733 vom Domkapitel gewählt, nachdem er zuvor das Pfarramt in Gouda… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Midshipman — This article is about the naval rank. For the fish, see midshipman fish. For the sports teams of the U.S. Naval Academy, see Navy Midshipmen. For the novel about Horatio Hornblower, see Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. Common anglophone military ranks… …   Wikipedia

  • Office of Naval Intelligence — For the fictional military agency in the Halo videogame series, see Factions of Halo#Military. The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to seek out and report on the… …   Wikipedia

  • Raymond P. Rodgers — Rear Admiral Raymond Perry Rodgers (December 20, 1849 December 28, 1925) was an officer in the United States Navy. He succeeded Lt. Theodorus B.M. Mason as the second head of the Office of Naval Intelligence.Born in Washington, D.C., his parents… …   Wikipedia

  • Amphibious warfare — is the utilization of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non contiguous enemy held terrain. In this modern era amphibious warfare… …   Wikipedia

  • Office of Naval Intelligence — ONI …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Oficina de Inteligencia Naval — Parte de Armada de Estados Unidos Ubicación Centro Nacional de Inteligencia Maritima CNIC Suitland, Maryland Comandantes Anexo:Directores de la Oficina de Inteligencia Naval La Oficina de Inteligencia Naval (del inglés: Office of Naval… …   Wikipedia Español

  • United States congressional delegations from New York — These are tables of congressional delegations from New York to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. Over the years, New York has demographically changed so that it is hard to consider each district to be a… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste de zoologistes — Attention, il n est pas d usage en zoologie d utiliser d abréviation pour les noms des auteurs (contrairement aux usages de la botanique, voir ici). Cette liste ne constitue pas une liste officielle. Nous attirons l attention du lecteur sur son… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”