The Resolute Desk
A highlight of the museum’s Oval Office is a reproduction of the Resolute Desk, named after the HMS Resolute. Because President Carter had served in the U.S. Navy, he selected this desk, which was made from the timbers of HMS Resolute, an abandoned British ship discovered by an American vessel and returned to the Queen of England as a token of friendship and goodwill. When the ship was retired, Queen Victoria commissioned the desk and presented it to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.

Every President since Hayes, except Presidents Johnson, Nixon, and Ford, has used the Resolute desk. The desk was made famous by a photograph of President John F. Kennedy at work while his son, John Jr., peeked out from behind the kneehole panel.

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