Mason, John (c. 1600–c. 1672)

English-born US soldier and public official. He emigrated to Massachusetts from England c. 1633. Commanding militia, Mason broke the power of the Pequot Indian tribe in 1637 with an attack on an encampment at Mystic, Connecticut, in which more than 600 Pequots, including women and children, were slaughtered. He later served as a magistrate and as deputy governor of Connecticut.