Resolute desk

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The richly carved Resolute desk in the Oval Office.

The Resolute desk is the centerpiece of the White House Oval Office. It was a present from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1879, built from the timbers of the British barque-rigged ship HMS Resolute. Every President since Hayes, except Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford, has used the desk.

1 History
2 Replicas
3 External links

[edit] History

[edit] A gift to the queen

HMS Resolute was part of a four-ship squadron sent in the early 1850s to search for famed English explorer, Sir John Franklin, who was searching for the Northwest Passage to Asia. The Resolute and one of her sister ships became lodged in the Arctic ice, and after two full seasons, remained stuck. Following the second summer, the commander of the expedition instructed the crews of the two ships to board the two ships that lay outside the ice and sailed back to England.

After their return, the commander was court-martialed for abandoning a seaworthy vessel, as the Resolute broke loose of the ice the subsequent summer and was found by an American fishing vessel. The Resolute was towed into port and purchased by Congress for $40,000 and refitted. The Resolute was presented to Queen Victoria on December 17, 1856 as a token of peace. The Resolute served in the Royal Navy for over 20 years following its return.

[edit] A gift in return

When the ship was decommissioned in 1879, Queen Victoria had two desks made from its timbers. One sits in Buckingham Palace, and one was presented to President Hayes in 1880. Every president since Hayes has used the desk except Presidents Johnson, Nixon, and Ford.

The desk was first commonly used by the president in his private study in the residence. President John F. Kennedy first placed it in the Oval Office in 1961. Some presidents, such as George H. W. Bush, have used the desk in their private study rather than the Oval Office.

[edit] Modifications

The desk has been modified twice. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered a front panel in order to hide his leg braces and wheelchair. The hinged panel was commissioned in 1944 but was not delivered until 1945, following Roosevelt's death. President Truman had the panel installed anyway. The panel features one of three presidential seals in the White House that has the eagle's head turned towards the 13 arrows in the eagle's right talon as opposed to the more common eagle turned towards the olive branch in the left talon with the 13 leaves. (One seal is over the entrance to the Diplomatic Reception Room on the ground floor of the residence; the other is in the cornerstone of the East Wing.)

The second modification to the desk was made under President Reagan. President Reagan brought his chair from the capitol in California; it was tall enough that his knees bumped into the desk when he moved. As a result, the desk was raised 2" to accommodate Reagan and his chair; this was done by adding a separate, uniform base to the desk to make way for his chair.

The desk is famous for the picture of President John F. Kennedy's son John F. Kennedy Jr. coming out of the hinged front panel.

[edit] Replicas

There are exact replicas of the Resolute desk on display at three presidential libraries. The desk at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library was recreated by Robert Whitley. The desk at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas was built by The Presidents Desk. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California also includes a replica of the Resolute desk.

A few independent museums also display replicas, including The American Presidential Museum, a gallery and museum of American presidents in Branson, Missouri, and a full-scale replica of The Oval Office with desk are open to the public at The American Village in Montevallo, Alabama.

The Resolute desk is available for custom reproductions by various carpentry artisans. Such reproductions are costly and can amount to $10,000 or more.