Mason Andrews
| Mason Andrews | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Norfolk, Virginia | |
|
In office July 9, 1992 – June 30, 1994 |
|
| Preceded by | Joseph Leafe |
| Succeeded by | Paul D. Fraim |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 19, 1919 Norfolk, Virginia |
| Died | October 13, 2006 (aged 87) Norfolk, Virginia |
| Alma mater |
Princeton University Johns Hopkins University |
Mason Cooke Andrews (April 19, 1919, in Norfolk, Virginia – October 13, 2006, in Norfolk, Virginia) was a Virginia politician and physician, known for delivering America's first in vitro baby. A president of the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society, Andrews also served on the Norfolk City Council for 26 years and was mayor from 1992-1994.
Andrews had attended the birth of about 5,000 babies in Norfolk before delivering Elizabeth Carr by Caesarian section on December 28, 1981, at the Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), which he had played a leading role in creating just a few years earlier.
Writing at the time of Andrews' death, Patricia Sullivan of The Washington Post observed that "[t]he birth of the first U.S. 'test-tube baby' gave hope to hundreds of thousands of U.S. women who were unable to become pregnant. Carr was the first of about 330,000 babies who have since been born through in vitro fertilization in the United States, according to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine."
Andrews' community service began during the 1950s as a member of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and the Health Welfare and Recreation Planning Council. While serving as president of the Norfolk County Medical Society, Andrews appointed a bipartisan committee to study the need for a medical school in the area. The study was able to convince the Virginia General Assembly of the need for a new medical school.
In 1964, the Eastern Virginia Medical Center Authority was formed with the charge of developing the new medical school. Andrews served as the chairman of the authority from 1964-1970. Speaking in 2006, EVMS President Harry T. Lester stated that "Dr. Andrews is rightfully seen as the prime mover behind EVMS."
Under Andrews' leadership, a medical center complex was built in an area that had once been slums. The medical complex now consists of the EVMS campus, Norfolk General Hospital, the Medical Tower, the Norfolk Public Health Department, Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters and the Tidewater Rehabilitation Institute.
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