History

Breckinridge Hall is named after Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge. In 1901 she became the first woman to receive a doctoral degree in political science from the University of Chicago. Inspired by her own struggle to achieve her doctoral degree, she decided to pursue social reform, especially in the field of women's rights, forming the Woman's Peace Party and founding the Department of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago.

Culture

Being one of the largest Houses on campus gives Breckinridge a wonderful and diverse character. The general atmosphere is fun-loving, quirky, and social. The architecture and design of the dorm adds to the friendly environment. Students are always hanging out in our beautiful and homey formal lounge, playing piano or board-games, doing homework, sharing snacks, and having interesting discussions. In the basement there are often pool games and ping-pong matches, and when the weather is nice we go outside for late-night pick-up soccer or frisbee on the Midway. In the winter we have snowball fights in our lovely courtyard and cook s'mores in our working fireplace. We bond over the distance from campus, and an unusually high percentage of students have bicycles. All in all, there is someone and something for everyone at Breckinridge.