Sir James Irvine Orme Masson FRS[1] FRSE MBE LLD (3 September 1887 – 22 October 1962), generally known as Irvine Masson, was an Australian-born chemist of Scots descent who was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield from 1938 to 1953.
Irvine Masson was born in Toorak, near Melbourne, the son of Sir David Orme Masson a professor of chemistry at Melbourne University, and his wife, Mary Struthers.
He began medical studies, but reverted to chemistry and in 1910 took up a scholarship in the subject at University College London joining the staff in 1913.
[1] This administrative role led to his appointment as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield in 1938.
[3] In 1952 he retired from Sheffield and moved to Edinburgh, where both he and his wife had other family connections.