John Breathitt (September 9, 1786 – February 21, 1834) was an American politician and lawyer who was the 11th Governor of Kentucky. He was the first Democrat to hold this office and was the second Kentucky governor to die in office. Shortly after his death, Breathitt County, Kentucky was organized and named in his honor.
Early in life, Breathitt was appointed a deputy surveyor in Illinois Territory. On his return to Kentucky, he taught at a country school. Through investments, he amassed enough wealth to live on while he studied law ("read the law") with Judge Caleb Wallace. In 1811, Breathitt was elected to the first of several terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives. He was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 1828. Although his running mate William T. Barry lost the office of governor to Thomas Metcalfe, Breathitt defeated his opponent for lieutenant governor.
During his term as lieutenant governor, Breathitt was one of several proposed candidates to succeed John Rowan in the United States Senate. The General Assembly deadlocked over the appointment and the seat went unfilled until the Assembly's next term. In the next gubernatorial election in 1832, Breathitt was nominated by the Democrats for governor. Breathitt won, but James Turner Morehead, the Whig candidate for lieutenant governor, defeated Breathitt's running mate. Initially, Breathitt enjoyed popularity for his public condemnation of John C. Calhoun's doctrine of nullification, but he struggled in state politics because the Whigs controlled the legislature. He died in office of tuberculosis on February 21, 1834.
