Born in Yonkers, New York, Richard C. Davidson (1917-2004) was the oldest of three children born to Charles Davidson and Zara Odell. After graduating from New York University with a degree in Business Administration, he lived in Yonkers and worked in Manhattan for much of his life, except when he served in the Army Air Force during World War II. He was married twice, first to Violet Pascotta with whom he had no children and whom he divorced in 1963. Shortly afterward, Davidson married Marguerite Melanson with whom he had one child, Denise Davidson. They moved to New Jersey in 1968, eventually buying a home in Ridgefield Park, where he lived until his death. When he retired in 1983, he had been working for McLean Trucking Company for nearly 30 years. At retirement, Davidson's title was Market Manager for Textiles.

In the late 1930s, Davidson and some close friends, including his brother-in-law William Lenau, founded The Sentinel Rifle and Revolver Club that became affiliated with the National Rifle Association (NRA). In addition to conducting target practice and participating in shooting competitions, they went on annual deer-hunting trips in Upstate New York. They were also politically engaged with regard to the issue of gun rights, lobbying against limitations to the right to bear arms. Soon after World War II began in Europe, Davidson participated in a nationwide effort to re-arm the British public whose arms had been confiscated by the British government. Thousands of guns were collected and shipped to England in 1940 in the context of a feared German invasion. A lifetime member of the NRA, Davidson remained a passionate defender of the Second Amendment throughout his life.