John Breckinridge

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John Breckinridge

John Breckinridge (Breckenridge) (* 2. December 1760 in Staunton , Virginia Colony ; †  14. December 1806 in Lexington , Kentucky ) was an American lawyer , politician , US Senator and Minister of Justice ( Attorney General ).

Studies, career and family

Breckinridge first completed a general education course at the renowned College of William & Mary . During the Revolutionary War (1775–1783) he served in the Virginia militia and then studied law . After his admission to the bar in 1785, he founded a law firm in Charlottesville ; In 1793 he started one in Lexington. At the same time he founded the Castleton Farm, one of the most famous race horse stables in the history of equestrian sports in the USA.

Breckinridge came from a respected and influential family of politicians. His grandson, John C. Breckinridge, was the youngest Vice President of the United States . His grandson, William Campbell Preston Breckinridge, and his great-grandson, Clifton R. Breckinridge, were members of the House of Representatives, as was his great-great-grandson, John B. Breckinridge .

Political career

Officials in Kentucky

While still a student, he was elected a member of the Virginia Legislative Assembly in 1779 at the age of 19. However, since the age limit was still 21 at that time, he was initially unable to take up this mandate.

In 1792 he was elected as a member of the United States House of Representatives, but he renounced this mandate before the beginning of the session. In 1794 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the US Senate. From 1795 until his resignation in 1797, he was Attorney General of Kentucky. He then became a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives , which also elected him to be its speaker for two years . He was then a member of the Constituent Assembly of Kentucky from 1799 to 1801.

US Senator and Attorney General under Jefferson

As a candidate for the Democratic Republican Party , he was then elected US Senator. As such he was from March 4, 1801 to August 7, 1805 representative of his state in Washington . After his resignation as Senator, he was appointed on August 7, 1805 by US President Thomas Jefferson as Attorney General in his cabinet .

Breckinridge, who died in office, was an important advisor to the President in many ways.

According to him, that's Breckinridge County named in Kentucky.

literature

  • Lowell Harrison: John Breckinridge, Jeffersonian Republican. Filson Club, Louisville 1969.
  • James C. Klotter: The Breckinridges of Kentucky: Two Centuries of Leadership. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington 1986.
  • Breckenridge, James . In: James Grant Wilson, John Fiske (Eds.): Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography . tape 1 : Aaron - Crandall . D. Appleton and Company, New York 1887, p. 364 (English, Textarchiv - Internet Archive - main entry on the brother; family name spelled slightly differently).

Web links

Commons : John Breckinridge  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • John Breckinridge in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
personal data
SURNAME Breckinridge, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 2, 1760
PLACE OF BIRTH Staunton , Virginia
DATE OF DEATH December 14, 1806
Place of death Lexington , Kentucky