Otis Tufton Mason, Ph.D., LL.D. (April 10, 1838 – November 5, 1908) was an American
ethnologist
Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...
and
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
curator.
Mason was born at
Eastport, Maine
Eastport is a city and archipelago in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,288 at the 2020 census, making Eastport the least-populous city in Maine. The principal island is Moose Island, which is connected to the mainla ...
, the son of John and Rachel Mason. In 1850, the Masons purchased
Woodlawn Plantation, the former home of
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
's adopted daughter
Nellie Custis and her descendants. Otis Mason gave a portion of the property in 1872 to establish the Woodlawn Baptist Church, and preached there for the first four years, until a minister was appointed.
He graduated from
Columbian University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, presid ...
in 1861, then worked there for 23 years, as principal of the college's preparatory school (1861–84). He first became affiliated with the
United States National Museum
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
in 1872, working as a collaborator in ethnology. This in 1884 turned into a full-time position as curator. The Smithsonian had recently built its first purpose-built museum building, the U.S. National Museum building (or
Arts and Industries Building
The Arts and Industries Building is the second oldest (after The Castle) of the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Initially named the National Museum, it was built to provide the Smithsonian with its first proper facil ...
). Mason worked closely with
George Brown Goode
George Brown Goode (February 13, 1851 – September 6, 1896), was an American ichthyologist and museum administrator. He graduated from Wesleyan University and studied at Harvard University.
Early life and family
George Brown Goode was born Febru ...
in the installation and reorganization of the museum collections that came with the move into that new building. In 1879 he was one of the founders of the
Anthropological Society of Washington, and authored its constitution.
In 1890 Mason was appointed by
President Benjamin Harrison to the newly created
Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...
in
Executive Order No. 28, representing the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
. In 1893 he with
Frederic Ward Putnam
Frederic Ward Putnam (April 16, 1839 – August 14, 1915) was an American anthropologist and biologist.
Biography
Putnam was born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts, the son of Ebenezer (1797–1876) and Elizabeth (Appleton) Putnam. After leavin ...
, head of Harvard’s Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, and
Sol Bloom
Sol Bloom (March 9, 1870March 7, 1949) was an American song-writer and politician from New York City who began his career as an entertainment impresario and sheet music publisher in Chicago. He served fourteen terms in the United States House of ...
oversaw the cultural and anthropological display of the
Midway Plaisance
The Midway Plaisance, known locally as the Midway, is a public park on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is one mile long by 220 yards wide and extends along 59th and 60th streets, joining Washington Park at its west end and Jackson Park ...
at the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordi ...
.
As part of his curation work at the Smithsonian, Mason developed the culture area concept. Mason was anthropological editor of the ''
American Naturalist
''The American Naturalist'' is the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society of Naturalists, whose purpose is "to advance and to diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles so as to enhance th ...
'' and of the ''Standard Dictionary''. He believed in
Gustav Klemm
Gustav Friedrich Klemm (12 November 1802, in Chemnitz – 26 August 1867, in Dresden) was a German anthropologist and librarian. He spent much of his career as the Director of the Royal Library in Dresden. The British Museum
The British ...
's step-wise evolution of cultures and that technology was a marker of a culture's stage of development.
Selected publications
*Otis Tufton Mason, "Aboriginal American basketry: studies in a textile art without machinery," ''Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the Year Ending June 30, 1902, Report of the U.S. National Museum'', Part II (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904), pp. 171–548.
*Otis Tufton Mason, ''The Origins of Invention: A Study of Industry Among Primitives Peoples'' (London: W. Scott, Ltd., 1895).
*Otis Tufton Mason, ''
Summaries of Progress in Anthropology; Woman's Share in Primitive Culture'' (New York, D. Appleton and company 1894).
References
External links
*
Register to the Papers of Otis Tufton Mason National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Otis Tufton
People from Eastport, Maine
1838 births
1908 deaths
American non-fiction writers
American curators
American anthropologists
American ethnologists
Smithsonian Institution people
Presidents of the American Folklore Society
Historians of weapons