Girard B. Henderson Explained

Jerry Henderson
Birth Name:Girard B. Henderson
Birth Date:February 25, 1905
Birth Place:Brooklyn, New York, US
Death Date:November 16, 1983
Death Place:Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Father:Alexander D. Henderson
Founder and CEO,
Alexander Dawson Foundation
CEO, Alexander Dawson Inc.
Boards:Avon Products
Occupation:Businessman, philanthropist
Spouse:
  • Theodora G. Huntington
  • Mary Franklin
Children:2

Girard B. Henderson (February 25, 1905 – November 16, 1983) was an American business man and philanthropist. He was a director of Avon Products and the founder of the Alexander Dawson Schools. The author Donald Porter described him as a "short, tough-talking millionaire".[1]

Early life

Henderson is the son of Alexander Dawson Henderson, one of the co-initiators of what would become Avon Products.[2] [3]

He married Theodora G. Henderson. In January 1955, they entered a separation agreement working towards a divorce. They had two daughters.[4] On June 5, 1964, Henderson married his second wife, Mary Hollingsworth (1905–1988) in Clark County, Nevada.[5]

Career

Henderson flew a Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing biplane to transport wealthy business executives.[6] In 1933, Henderson opened the Henderson Motor Co., a Chrysler Dodge dealership in Suffern, New York, with Kenneth Burnham. Henderson later landed a contract to truck materials for Avon from New York City to Suffern.[7] 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.[8]

In 1940, Henderson was elected to serve on the Board of Directors for Avon Products. He remained on the board for 35 years.[9]

In 1950, Henderson created the Alarm Corporation in Carmel, California. The company provided underground cable service to Monterey Peninsula communities. The company had its receiving antenna site on the high ground of Pebble Beach.[10] [11]

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.[12]

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.[13] In addition to the underground home, there was also an exhibit sponsored by Henderson called "Why Live Underground?"[14] [15] At the height of the Cold War and fearing nuclear war or other catastrophe, Henderson built and lived in underground homes in Colorado and Las Vegas, Nevada.[16] [17]

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.[18] The property sold in 1990 for $1.3 million after Henderson died, and again in 2005 for $2 million.[19] [20] [21] [22]

Alexander Dawson Foundation

In 1957, Henderson formed the Alexander Dawson Foundation.[23] "This $6M 'underground swinger house' in Vegas is impossible to sell"

In 1980, he created the Colorado Junior Republic School (CJR) on a 380 acre site near Lafayette, Colorado, as a boarding school for children who otherwise wouldn't have an opportunity for an education.[24]

Death

On November 16, 1983, Henderson died. He is buried near Beaufort, South Carolina.[25]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Porter, Donald J. . A Jet Powered Life: Allen E. Paulson, Aviation Entrepreneur . 2019-04-01 . McFarland . 978-1-4766-3492-0 . en.
  2. News: Bender . Marylin . Marylin Bender . Avon: Chiming True? . . November 28, 1971 . 2024-01-29.
  3. Book: Bender, Marylin . Marylin Bender . At The Top . 1975 . 34 . Garden City, N.Y. . Doubleday . 9780385010047 .
  4. Theodora Holding Corporation v. Henderson . 257 . 398 . 1969 . https://casetext.com/case/theodora-holding-corporation-v-henderson/.
  5. Web site: Clark County Clerk's Office, Marriage Licenses. clerk.clarkcountynv.gov . 1964-06-05 . 14 Feb 2021 .
  6. Book: Porter, Donald J. . A Jet Powered Life: Allen E. Paulson, Aviation Entrepreneur . 2019-04-01. 114 . McFarland . 978-1-4766-3492-0 . en.
  7. Colorado's mystery millionaire by Louis Kilzer of the Denver Post, 1983.
  8. A Penny a Share . . 112 . 1 . 22 . July 1, 1973.
  9. Web site: Annual report, 1975 . Hagley Museum and Library . 1975 . 2020-02-26.
  10. News: Carmel. The Californian. Salinas, California. 8 Aug 1952. 15. Feb 14, 2021.
  11. News: Carmel. The Californian. Salinas, California. 4 March 1952. 17. Feb 14, 2021.
  12. Time 1966: Vol 87 Index . 30 . Time Magazine . 1966 .
  13. Web site: Impressive Savings Cited By Underground Homeowner. Poughkeepsie Journal. Poughkeepsie, New York. 20 Aug 1964. 7. 2022-02-24.
  14. Book: Porter . Donald J. . A jet powered life : Allen E. Paulson, aviation entrepreneur . 2019 . McFarland . Jefferson, North Carolina . 978-1476676562 . 114 . Illustrated . 24 April 2022.
  15. News: Asimov . Isaac . Epilogue - Visit to the World's Fair of 2014 . 24 April 2022 . New York Times . 16 August 1964. 978-1-312-11587-3 .
  16. Album, "At the bottom of the fair" by Johnny Mann, 1965
  17. Web site: Underground House for Sale – Another Cold War Bunker, But With Style!. www.midcenturystyle.net. September 19, 2013. 2020-04-01.
  18. Book: Garrett, Bradley L. . Bunker: What it Takes to Survive the Apocalypse . Penguin . 2021 . 137 .
  19. Web site: This $6M 'underground swinger house' in Vegas is impossible to sell . . Sam . Mauhay-Moore . January 27, 2024 .
  20. Web site: Infamous “Underground House” of Las Vegas Still on Market for $18 Million . Christopher . Boyle . Shelter Realty . May 26, 2020 .
  21. Book: Szasz . Andrew . Shopping our way to safety : how we changed from protecting the environment to protecting ourselves . 2007 . University of Minnesota Press . Minneapolis . 978-0816635085 . 45 . 3rd . 26 April 2022.
  22. News: House for Sale: 2 bedrooms, 1 pool, no sunlight . 26 April 2022 . Associated Press . The Orlando Sentinel . 26 May 1996.
  23. Book: Bauman . Jeffrey D. . Corporations Law and Policy: Materials and Problems . Weiss . Elliott J. . Palmiter . Alan R. . 2003 . Thomson/West . 978-0-314-25966-0 . en.
  24. News: Welch . Bryan . 1981-11-08 . Colorado's Free Enterprise High . The San Francisco Examiner . 2020-04-13 .
  25. News: Jerod Henderson. The State. Columbia, South Carolina. 19 Nov 1983. 22. 2022-04-29.