His paternal grandfather was Robert Jefferson Breckinridge, a Presbyterian minister, politician, public office holder and abolitionist.

[6] In 1913, at the age of 27, he was appointed United States Assistant Secretary of War by President Woodrow Wilson, a fellow Democrat.

Observers at the time and historians since gave him poor marks for his sloppy work and disregard of duties.

[7][8] In 1916, Breckinridge resigned, along with Secretary Lindley M. Garrison, who was "advocating a larger army in opposition to the President's views.

In the 1936 Democratic primaries, Breckinridge, a strong opponent of the New Deal, was the only serious candidate opposing the highly popular incumbent Roosevelt.

[20] Ruth was the daughter of Edgar Horace Woodman,[20] a lawyer who served as mayor of Concord, New Hampshire, in 1883 and 1884.

[21] Before they divorced in 1925, Ruth and Henry were the parents of two daughters:[22] He married for the second time on August 5, 1927, to socialite Aida de Acosta (1884–1962) in Washington, D.C. Aida, the first woman to fly a powered aircraft solo, was a daughter of Cuban emigre Ricardo de Acosta, who was a steamship-line executive and sugar refiner.

Together, they lived at 67-38B 190th Lane in Fresh Meadows, Queens,[6] and were the parents of one daughter:[29] Breckinridge died at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City on May 2, 1960.