John Breckinridge

U.S. Congressperson

1760 – 1806

 Credit ยป
14

Who was John Breckinridge?

John Breckinridge was a lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Virginia. He served in the state legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky before being elected to the U.S. Senate and appointed United States Attorney General during the second term of President Thomas Jefferson. He is the progenitor of Kentucky's Breckinridge political family and the namesake of Breckinridge County, Kentucky.

Breckinridge's father was a local politician, and his mother was a member of the Preston political family. Breckinridge attended the William and Mary College intermittently between 1780 and 1784; his attendance was interrupted by the Revolutionary War and his election to the Virginia House of Delegates. One of the youngest members of that body, his political activities acquainted him with many prominent politicians. In 1785, he married "Polly" Cabell, a member of the Cabell political family. Despite making a comfortable living through a combination of legal and agricultural endeavors, letters from relatives in Kentucky convinced him to move to the western frontier. He established "Cabell's Dale", his plantation, near Lexington, Kentucky, in 1793.

We need you!

Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!

Born
Dec 2, 1760
Augusta County
Siblings
Spouses
Children
Nationality
  • United States of America
Profession
Education
  • College of William and Mary
Died
Dec 14, 1806
Lexington

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"John Breckinridge." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/john_breckinridge>.

Discuss this John Breckinridge biography with the community:

0 Comments

    Browse Biographies.net