Robert Clymer Hendrickson (August 12, 1898December 7, 1964) was an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a

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

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Early life and education

Born in Woodbury, New Jersey, Hendrickson attended public schools and during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in 1918 and served overseas. Since he left for war before his senior year of high school ended, Hendrickson received his Woodbury High School diploma while he was overseas in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He graduated from

Temple University Law School The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 530 students. Student body Admission for fall 2019 entering class was highly comp ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

(1922).

Career

After graduating from law school, Hendrickson was admitted to the New Jersey

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 ...

, commencing practice in Woodbury. He held the office of

county supervisor A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

from 1929 to 1934, and was city solicitor of Woodbury in 1931. He was a member of the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

from 1934 to 1940, serving as president of the senate in 1939; he was an unsuccessful Republican nominee for

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 ...

in 1940. He served as state treasurer from 1942 to 1949 and was a member of the board of managers of the

Council of State Governments The Council of State Governments (CSG) is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization in the United States that serves all three branches of state government. Founded in 1933 by Colorado state Sen. Henry W. Toll, CSG is a region-based forum that ...

in 1940, and was its chairman in 1941. He was vice chairman of the Commission on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

Basin from 1936 to 1951. He served on the New Jersey Constitutional Revision Commission. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he rejoined the Army in 1943, was commissioned a major, served with the American Military Government in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, and was subsequently promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1944, being separated from the service in 1946. As a senior legal officer in the U.S. Army in North Africa, Italy, and Austria, he worked on the re-establishment of civil rights and local courts, the implementation of de-nazification programs, and the care of displaced persons. He was called back into active duty for the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

in 1951. In 1948, he was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate, and served from January 3, 1949, to January 3, 1955; he was not a candidate for renomination in 1954. President

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

appointed Hendrickson to the post of

United States ambassador to New Zealand The United States has maintained a Consul (representative), consular presence in New Zealand since 1838. The first consul was James Reddy Clendon. Born in England, Clendon was a ship owner and merchant who bought land and settled in the Bay of Is ...

, which he held from February 16, 1955, to November 20, 1956.

Personal life

Hendrickson was a resident of Woodbury until his death in 1964; his grave is in Eglington Cemetery in

Clarksboro, New Jersey Clarksboro is an unincorporated community and historic area located in the municipality of East Greenwich Township in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Notable people People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise clos ...

References

External links

Robert C. Hendrickson Papers
at Syracuse University {{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrickson, Robert 1898 births 1964 deaths County commissioners in New Jersey Republican Party New Jersey state senators United States Army officers Republican Party United States senators from New Jersey Politicians from Woodbury, New Jersey Ambassadors of the United States to New Zealand Presidents of the New Jersey Senate Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni Woodbury Junior-Senior High School alumni 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American diplomats Military personnel from New Jersey