He took part in, and founded, multiple cable and radio companies in Ottawa and served on countless boards.

For his decades of service he received the 1988 B'nai B'rith Award of Merit and a Companionship within the Order of Canada.

His father was a well known defense lawyer in Ottawa, Gordon Smith Henderson, and his mother was Charlotte Stratton.

His grandfather, William Henderson, came from Scotland, and eventually moved to Victoria to become a provincial Government architect.

[2] He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in 1934 and graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1937.

[6] Within 3 years, and before the age of 28, Henderson had appeared successfully on two separate occasions at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Former Ontario Superior Court Justice Roydon Kealey referred to Henderson as "one of three top lawyers in Canada.

Ian Scott, former Attorney General of Ontario, called him "the best all-round lawyer the profession has produced since the War.

[8] By the time of his death, Henderson appeared as counsel in nearly 400 reported cases, including 90 before the Supreme Court of Canada.

The second offer came in 1972 from John Turner who asked Henderson to accept an appointment to the Ontario court of appeal.

He was the first honorary chairperson for REACH Canada (1981), an organization that assists people with disabilities in getting legal help.

[18] In 1982 Henderson chaired the Ottawa Civic Hospital Frank Sinatra/Rich Little Gala dinner which raised 750,000 dollars for charity.

[19] He was a part owner of the Ottawa Rough Riders from 1966 to 1969, during which the team won 2 Grey cup championships in 1968 and 1969.

[31] International Woodworkers of America, Local 2-69 v. Consolidated-Bathurst Packaging Ltd: Henderson acted on behalf of the respondent (Ontario Labour Relations Board) and won.

[32] Henderson was instrumental in the formation of SOCAN, a major Canadian copyright collective, as its lawyer and later as chairman.

The Gordon F. Henderson/SOCAN Copyright Competition was named in his honour in 1990 and annually has offered a prize of $2000 to a Canadian law student, or lawyer in their first year of articling, for an essay on the subject of copyright relating to music[35] At the time of his death, Henderson was a member of the Senate of the Stratford Festival.

[3] Henderson was a philanthropist, humanitarian and civic leader in his native Ottawa, having founded or lent his support to numerous causes.