Charles Belknap Henderson (June 8, 1873November 8, 1954) was an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

Biography

Born in San Jose, California, he moved with his parents to Nevada in 1876, and attended the public schools in Elko, the University of the Pacific, and Leland Stanford Junior University in California. He earned a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1895, and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1896, commencing practice in Elko. He served as

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

’s Rough Riders during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, and was

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

Elko County Elko County is a county in the northeastern corner of Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,702. Its county seat is Elko. The county was established on March 5, 1869, from Lander County. Elko County is the fourth ...

from 1901 to 1905. He was a member of the Nevada Assembly from 1905 to 1907, and a

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the University of Nevada from 1907 to 1917. Henderson was appointed to the U.S. Senate on January 12, 1918, by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Emmet D. Boyle Emmet Derby Boyle (July 26, 1879 – January 3, 1926) was an American politician who was the List of Governors of Nevada, 13th Governor of Nevada. He was a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. Biography Boyle was born ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Francis G. Newlands Francis Griffith Newlands (August 28, 1846December 24, 1917) was a United States representative and Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party. A supporter of westward expansion, he helped pass the Newlands Reclamation Act of 19 ...

. He was subsequently elected on November 5, 1918, as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

and served until March 3, 1921. While in the Senate, Henderson was chairman of the Committee on Industrial Expositions (

65th Congress The 65th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1917, to ...

) and a member of the

Committee on Mines and Mining The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and recla ...

(65th Congress). Henderson was defeated in his bid for reelection in 1920 by former governor,

Tasker Oddie Tasker Lowndes Oddie (October 20, 1870 – February 17, 1950) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 12th Governor of Nevada and a United States Senator. He was a member of the Republican Party. Biography Oddie was born on ...

, a Republican. Days after his term ended as senator of Nevada, Henderson was approached in the Senate building by Charles August Grock, who had lost a land-related lawsuit to Henderson's law firm 25 years previously. Grock held a gun to Henderson's chest, a struggle ensued, and Henderson was shot in the forearm. Grock was arrested and Henderson was found "calmly bandaging his arm and not at all excited." He later said that he believed his assailant to be mentally unsound. In 1934, Henderson was appointed a member of the board of directors of the

Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was a government corporation administered by the United States Federal Government between 1932 and 1957 that provided financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgag ...

; elected chairman in 1941, he served until he resigned in 1947. He retired from political activities, but remained was president and director of the Elko Telephone & Telegraph Co., and a director of the

Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...

. In 1953, a largely industrial town south of Las Vegas incorporated itself as

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *He ...

, Nevada, naming itself after the former senator. Charles Henderson died in San Francisco, California, in 1954, and was interred in Elko City Cemetery in

Elko, Nevada Elko (Shoshoni: Natakkoa, "Rocks Piled on One Another") is the largest city in and county seat of Elko County, Nevada, United States. With a 2020 population of 20,564, Elko is currently growing at a rate of 0.31% annually and its population has i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Charles 1873 births 1954 deaths American business executives American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American telecommunications industry businesspeople District attorneys in Nevada Democratic Party members of the Nevada Assembly Reconstruction Finance Corporation People from Elko, Nevada Politicians from San Jose, California Stanford University alumni Democratic Party United States senators from Nevada University of the Pacific (United States) alumni Businesspeople from San Jose, California University of Michigan Law School alumni