Brian Harold Mason

Brian Harold Mason (born 1917) is one of the pioneers in the study of meteorites. [ [http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/Astronomy/Meteorites/2/ENZ-Resources/Standard/5/en Meteorites - Brian Mason, geochemist and meteorite scientist - Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand ] ] He has played a leading part in understanding the nature of the solar system through his studies of meteorites and lunar rocks. He has also examined and classified thousands of meteorites collected from Antarctica. [ [http://www.scitech-trust.org.nz/brianmason.htm ::: Brian Mason - a brief profile :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ] ] Brian also wrote the seminal text book Principals of Geochemistry.

Brian was born in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, in 1917 and was brought up in Christchurch, New Zealand. He studied geology and chemistry at Canterbury University College. In 1943, he completed a PhD in geochemistry at the University of Stockholm.

Brian was a curator at both the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution.

Two minerals have been named after Brian. Brianite is a phosphate mineral and Stenhuggarite (from the Swedish ‘stenhuggar’ – ‘mason’) is a rare iron-antimony mineral. Asteroid 12926 Brianmason is also named in his honor. [http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=12926]

Brian won the Leonard Medal from the Meteoritical Society in 1972 and the Roebling Medal from the Mineralogical Society of America in 1993.

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