President’s desk

The President’s Desk also known as the Resolute Desk is a large partners desk made from the timbers of HMS Resolute. The HMS Resolute had been abandoned when it was trapped in ice during an expedition to discover the Northwest Passage.

The ship was discovered by an American whaler and was returned to Queen Victoria as a gesture of friendship and goodwill . When the ship was finally decommissioned, Queen Victoria commissioned the desk and presented it to President Hayes in 1880 along with a Brass Dedication Plaque. Each pedestal has a letter drawer and a file drawer behind a lockable cupboard door.

The desk was first put in the Oval Office of the White House by Jackie Kennedy in 1961. Over the years changes have been made to the desk. Franklin D Roosevelt had a front panel installed to hide his braces and accommodate his wheelchair, and Reagan had it changed to fit his chair that he brought from the California Capitol.