Ira Mack Mason

Born in 1886 in Birmingham, Alabama, Ira Mason prepared for college at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He graduated from Talladega College in 1907. He then entered Yale College and graduated with a BA in 1910. While at Yale, Mason was a founding member of Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha. After graduating from Yale, he taught at Talladega College, Tuskegee Institute, and Howard University. He received his MD from the Chicago Medical School in 1916 with a speciality in urology. Mason completed further graduate study in France and Spain and studied several languages. After his return to the United States, Mason practiced medicine in Chicago, serving on the staff of Provident Hospital, the nation’s first Black-run hospital, for many years. He was a member of the American Medical Association and the Chicago Medical Society. He married Claire Doublette in 1949, and they had two children: Ira, Jr. and Raymond. Mason died in 1972. Mason was a cousin of Yale School of Drama graduate John McLinn Ross, and the great-nephew of Yale carpenter Charles McLinn.

"Books as they Relate to Life," Howard University Journal 9, no. 20 (1912).