John C. Breckinridge

Candidate Biography:

John Cabell Breckinridge
Born: January 16, 1821 in Lexington, Kentucky
Married: Mary Cyrene Burch
Child: Joseph Cabell, Clifton Rhoads, Frances, John Milton, John W., Mary Desha
Military Service: Confederate Army (Civil War)
Family: Great-grandson of John Witherspoon, who signed the Declaration of Independence
Died: May 17, 1875 in Lexington, Kentucky

1851-1855: Member, United States House of Representatives [Kentucky]
1857-1861: Vice President of the United States
1861: Member, United States Senate [Kentucky]
1865: Secretary of War, Confederate States of America

• Breckinridge was the youngest person ever to be Vice President of the United States.
• PLACENAME: The cities of Breckenridge in Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri and Texas were named for Breckinridge.
• On June 7, 1865, Breckinridge and a group of confederate fugitives highjacked a large boat and sailed it to Cuba to escape federal authorities.