Junius Henderson

Junius Henderson (April 1865 – November 4, 1937) was an American lawyer, judge, curator, and amateur malacologist who was the first Curator (a position eventually equivalent to Director) of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, of which he is considered to be the founder. He has been described as “a giant of natural history in early-day Colorado” who “cast an enormous intellectual umbra.”

Early life and education Born in Marshalltown, Iowa, on April 30, 1865, Henderson was a ninth-generation American. He was of Scottish descent and was the son of a district court judge. By age 22, he was working as the editor of a small Washington newspaper.

In 1892, he relocated with his parents to Boulder, Colorado, where he gained employment in a law office. Within two years, he attained his qualifications as a lawyer. By 1902, he had ascended to the roles of county judge and law instructor at the University of Colorado.

He had always been avidly interested in nature, so when he discovered that the university's natural history collection was small and poorly maintained, with no official curator, he volunteered to take care of it.

“During his early years as judge and curator,” according to one source, “Henderson found time to earn a bachelor's degree from the university. Instead of attending graduation, he went exploring for fossils.” Those field notes, transcribed in 2001 by Professor Peter Robinson of the University of Colorado at Boulder, are available online.

Henderson was one of the first to study and publish on the extinct (1905) and existing (1910) glaciers of Colorado. Henderson was especially interested in documenting the Arapaho glacier, of which he took many photographs from 1902 to 1922. Photographs taken by him of glaciers can also be viewed online. Henderson was one of the first to explore the Arapaho glacier, of which he took many photographs from 1902 to 1922.

“In the early 20th century,” according to one source, “the biology program of the University of Colorado, led by Dr. Junius Henderson and Dr. Gordon Alexander, made significant contributions to early lists of birds.” He specialized, however, in mollusks, discovering 28 living and 33 fossil molluscan species. His complete checklist of freshwater and terrestrial mollusks of Idaho, published in 1924 (a supplement was issued in 1936), was not superseded until the year 2000.

The Albuquerque Journal noted in 2008 that Henderson, visiting New Mexico in 1912 with Wilfred William Robbins, “puzzled over what they called New Mexico's 'great desiccation.'” While the state, they observed, had “insufficient moisture to support a large population,” archaeological evidence showed that large cities had once thrived there.

Henderson remained Curator of the Museum until his retirement in 1933, when he was succeeded by Hugo G. Rodeck. In retirement, Henderson continued to pursue research. He died on November 4, 1937.

Personal life Henderson was married to his first wife, Nellie, for 30 years. She died in 1924. He married his second wife, Bess, a zoologist and teacher, in 1929. Henderson, J. and M.M. Ellis, 1913. The Amphibia and Reptilia of Colorado. Henderson, J. and L. E. Daniels. 1916. Hunting Mollusca in Utah and Idaho. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Proceedings 68:315-339. Henderson, J. 1935. Margaritifera and Fluminicola in Wyoming. Nautilus 48(3):107. Henderson, J. 1936. Mollusca of Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Supplement. University of Colorado Studies, Boulder, Colorado 23(2):81-145. Henderson, J. 1936. The non-marine Mollusca of Oregon and Washington. Supplement. University of Colorado Studies, Boulder, Colorado 23(4):251-280. Henderson, J. 1939. The mollusca of New Mexico and Arizona. pp. 187–194 in D.D. Brand and F.E. Harvey (eds.). So live the works of men. University of New Mexico Press. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 366 pp. Henderson, J., and H.G. Rodek. 1934. New species of Pliocene Mollusca from Eastern Oregon. Journal of Paleontology 8(3):264-269.