Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason (May 8, 1848 – October 15, 1899) was the founder and first head of the USA Office of Naval Intelligence, with the post of Chief Intelligence Officer (prior to it being redesignated as Director of Naval Intelligence in 1911). Despite initial difficulties, the different Bureaus recognized its value and used it to share information amongst themselves and used this information in justifying funds needed for Navy expansion and modernization.