Gregory Mason

Born in New York City on July 3, 1889, Gregory Mason built an unusually wide-ranging career as a reporter, author, lecturer, and explorer. Archival and museum sources describe him as a newsman and journalist who worked for the New York Evening Sun and The Outlook, covering major events including the Mexican Revolution and the Russian Revolution, while also traveling through Asia and the Yucatán.

Mason became especially associated with Mexico and Central America. Smithsonian and related research collections note his strong interest in anthropology and his role in expeditions exploring Maya sites, including work connected with Herbert Spinden in the 1920s. He wrote books that grew out of those travels, such as The Green Gold of Yucatan and Silver Cities of Yucatan, bringing archaeology, landscape, and adventure writing together for general readers.

Reference sources also list him as a lecturer and as the author of travel writing beyond Mesoamerica, including Changing States: My Transatlantic and Other Journeys. He died in November 1968 in Riverside, Connecticut, leaving behind a body of work shaped by reporting in the field and a lasting fascination with the ancient Americas.