Born in Greenville Township, LaMoure County, North Dakota, Benson received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Dakota in 1942 and was a lieutenant in the United States Navy during World War II, from 1942 to 1946. He received a Bachelor of Laws from George Washington University Law School in 1949, entering private practice in Cavalier, North Dakota in 1949 and in Grand Forks, North Dakota from 1950 to 1971. He was an assistant city attorney of Grand Forks from 1952 to 1954. He was the North Dakota Attorney General from 1954 to 1955. He was a lecturer at the University of North Dakota School of Law from 1960 to 1965.
