Cliff Henderson

Cliff Henderson
Aviation promoter & real estate developer Cliff Henderson, c. 1933
Born	Clifford William Henderson (1895-07-11)July 11, 1895 Lenox, Iowa, U.S.
Died	March 26, 1984(1984-03-26) (aged 88) Rancho Mirage, California
Nationality	American
Known for	National Air Races (director); Palm Desert, California (founder)
Spouse(s)	Marian Marsh

Clifford "Cliff" Henderson (1895-1984) was the managing director of the National Air Races from 1928 through 1939. Described as "the Barnum of aviation," he obtained sponsors for two of the most well-known air races of the period, the Bendix transcontinental and the Thompson closed-course classics. The Thompson Trophy was first awarded in 1929. The 1929 National Air Races included the first official women-only event, the Women's Air Derby, a cross-country race from Los Angeles to Cleveland, Ohio. In 1931, he convinced businessman Vincent Bendix to sponsor the Bendix Trophy Race, a transcontinental speed dash open to men and women. Henderson was awarded the L'Ordre de 'Etoile Noire de Benin for his service in World War II as the U.S. Air Force Military Commissioner of Dakar.

With his brother Phillip, Henderson built the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in 1935. The landmark Streamline Moderne convention center, designed by Los Angeles architects Wurdeman & Becket, was the region's primary indoor venue with 100,000 square feet of exhibition space and seating for up to 6,000. It closed after the 1972 opening of the much larger Los Angeles Convention Center.

Henderson and his brother Randall founded Palm Desert, California in the 1940s, envisioning a modern utopia growing from the scrub. He built the Shadow Mountain Club in 1948. With its glamorous figure-eight swimming pool and high-dive competitions, the club drew celebrities, presidents, and future residents.

The National Aeronautic Association presents an annual Cliff Henderson Award for Achievement. The award is given to a living individual or group whose vision, leadership, or skill has made a significant and lasting contribution to the promotion and advancement of aviation or space activity. Notable recipients of the Cliff Henderson Trophy include Wesley L. McDonald, Walter J. Boyne, Thomas H. Miller, and Eugene Peyton Deatrick. Henderson was a member of the Quiet Birdmen, a male-only aviators' social club.