Charles Mason (Iowa judge)

Common card · No. 402239

Charles Mason (October 24, 1804 – February 25, 1882) was born in Pompey, New York and became a patent attorney, taught engineering, and was the chief justice of the Iowa Territorial Supreme Court, from 1838 to 1846, and then became the first chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court when Iowa was granted statehood, from 1846 to 1847. However, today Mason is perhaps most remembered as the cadet who graduated first in the class of 1829 at the United States Military Academy at West Point, ahead of future Confederate Army commander Robert E. Lee. Mason and Lee were tied for the head of the class in Artillery, Tactics, and Conduct, but Mason bested Lee in all other subjects and graduated with an overall score of 1,995.5 points out of a possible 2,000, compared to Lee's 1,966.5. Mason resigned his commission in 1831, two years after graduation. Mason and Lee also still have the two highest graduation point scores in the history of West Point. The third highest score in the Academy's history is...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Published in above-mentioned work, which was by Benjamin F. Gue, Public domain