Henderson earned his A.B. from
Columbia College of
Columbia University in 1910, and continued his studies in Japan between 1930 and 1934. From 1927 through 1929, Henderson was assistant curator of the Far East Department of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. In 1934, he joined the faculty of Columbia. His academic career was interrupted by military service in the Second World War. At war's end, he returned to Columbia, retiring in 1956.
Laurence Sickman and
Patrick Lennox Tierney. In
Tokyo, Henderson was an advisor on education, religion, and art. Along with
Reginald Horace Blyth, he served as a liaison between General MacArthur and Japan’s Imperial household. He participated in the process of drafting the
Humanity Declaration in which the Emperor renounced his personal divinity. In 1974 Henderson was honored the
Order of the Sacred Treasure. ==Selected works==