Andrew Augustus Henderson (born Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1816; died Brooklyn, New York, April 4, 1875) was an American surveyor, navy surgeon, and inventor who is best known today for his work collecting biological specimens.
Henderson at first was attached to vessels involved with the Seminole War; he was part of an 1842 canoe expedition into the Everglades commanded by Lieutenant John Rodgers.
During the Mexican-American War he was present at the battles of Río San Gabriel and La Mesa, January 8-9, 1847, which led to the recapture of Los Angeles.
In 1852-3 he served aboard the USS Dolphin on a voyage that helped generate the first bathymetric charts of the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1862-3 the Richmond was part of David Farragut's squadron which assisted in the capture of New Orleans, Vicksburg, and other Confederate strongholds on the lower Mississippi.
[8] A number of plant species were named from specimens collected by Henderson - the shrubs Coptosperma borbonica and Tarenna borbonica of the Indian Ocean island of Réunion, the vine Kadsura marmorata of Borneo and The Philippines, and Gazania splendens, a South African ornamental composite, among others.