Girard B. Henderson (February 25, 1905 – November 16, 1983) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

business man and philanthropist. He was a director of

Avon Products Avon Products, Inc. ( ) is an Anglo-American multinational company selling cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care products. It is a multi-level marketing company based in London. In 2020, Avon had annual sales of $9.1 billion worldwid ...

and the founder of the Alexander Dawson Schools. The author Donald Porter described him as a "short, tough-talking millionaire".

Early life

Henderson is the son of Alexander Dawson Henderson, one of the co-initiators of what would become

. He married Theodora G. Henderson. In January 1955, they entered a separation agreement working towards a divorce. They had two daughters. On June 5, 1964, Henderson married his second wife, Mary Hollingsworth (1905–1988) in

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Career

Henderson flew a

Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing The Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing is an American biplane with an atypical negative wing Stagger (aviation), stagger (the lower wing is farther forward than the upper wing). It first flew in 1932, and was sold on the civilian market, being ...

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

to transport wealthy business executives. In 1933, Henderson opened the Henderson Motor Co., a

Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

dealership in

Suffern, New York Suffern is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo, New York, Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Located adjacent to the town of Mahwah, New Jersey, Suffern is located 31 miles ...

, with Kenneth Burnham. Henderson later landed a contract to truck materials for Avon from New York City to Suffern. The McConnells rewarded Henderson by selling him shares in Avon at 1 cent per share. By 1973, his share value had increased to $135 million, at which time he told ''Forbes'' he had no intention of selling. In 1940, Henderson was elected to serve on the Board of Directors for Avon Products. He remained on the board for 35 years. In 1950, Henderson created the Alarm Corporation in

Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...

. The company provided underground cable service to Monterey Peninsula communities. The company had its receiving antenna site on the high ground of Pebble Beach. The A. D. Henderson Foundation was founded in 1959 by Henderson and his wife, Lucy, with the mission of "creating and developing constructive links between the public and private sectors of society. In 1966, ''Time'' magazine published a story that revealed Henderson's interests in half a dozen businesses, and that he owned 1,035,410 shares of Avon stock. Henderson owned a majority stake in a company called Underground World Homes. In 1964, he sponsored the Underground World Home exhibit at the New York World's Fair. In addition to the underground home, there was also an exhibit sponsored by Henderson called "Why Live Underground?" At the height of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and fearing nuclear war or other catastrophe, Henderson built and lived in underground homes in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. In 1978, architect Jay Swayze designed and built for Henderson a large underground house in Las Vegas, that included a swimming pool and putting green surrounded by pastel murals.

Alexander Dawson Foundation

In 1957, Henderson formed the Alexander Dawson Foundation. In 1980, he created the Colorado Junior Republic School (CJR) on a 380 acre site near

Lafayette, Colorado The City of Lafayette ( ) is a home rule municipality located in southeastern Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 30,411 at the 2020 United States census. Geography Lafayette is located in southeastern Boulder ...

, as a boarding school for children who otherwise wouldn't have an opportunity for an education.

Death

On November 16, 1983, Henderson died. He is buried near

Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , different from that of Beaufort, North Carolina) is a city in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston, South Carolina ...

References

External links

Mary's Family Connections
by Mary Anthony Lathrop (1979)
Video tour of Girard B. Henderson's Jay Swayze designed underground home
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Girard B. 1905 births 1983 deaths Businesspeople from Brooklyn People from Suffern, New York 20th-century American businesspeople People associated with direct selling