John Landis Mason (1832 - February 1902) was a native of Philadelphia, a tinsmith and the patentee of the metal screw-on lid for fruit jars that have come to be known as Mason jars. Many such jars were printed with the line "Mason's Patent Nov 30th 1858".[1] He also invented the first screw top salt shaker in 1858.
Some assert that John Mason was at least partially of Native American ancestry.[2]
United States patent 22,186, dated November 30, 1858, is primarily on the use of exterior threads in the jar and a corresponding metal cap. Later patents such as 102,913 improved upon this in various ways such as the addition of rubber rings.