[1][2] Henry A. Gunderson was born in Columbia County, Wisconsin in 1878, the son of Norwegian immigrants.

He served several terms as the district attorney for Columbia County.

In 1936, he became Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, but resigned on October 16, 1937, to accept an appointment to the state tax commission.

After Governor Philip La Follette left office in 1939, the commission was disbanded, and Gunderson returned to his law practice.

He died of a heart attack on October 7, 1940, in Portage, Wisconsin.