Joe Biden Chooses the Resolute Desk for His Oval Office

Photo credit: Pete Souza
Photo credit: Pete Souza
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From House Beautiful

This story was originally published on 1/19/2021; it has been updated to reflect new information.

On January 20th, the inauguration of President Joe Biden took place on the steps of the United States Capitol—and with this change of leadership comes a series of amendments to the interior decor of the White House. First and foremost, Biden chose which one of the six Oval Office desks from years past best suits him and his vision for this historic room. The desk of Biden's choice is the Resolute desk, which Caroline Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. would often hide inside while their dad was at work—the same desk that has now been used by eight presidents in total, including Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Below, House Beautiful takes a look at all six of the Oval Office desks.

The Theodore Roosevelt Desk

Photo credit: The National Archives and Records Administration
Photo credit: The National Archives and Records Administration

Although this desk was created for then-President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903, it was not brought into the Oval Office until 1909, when it was used by President William Howard Taft—and it stayed in this iconic space until the West Wing fire of 1929. Years later, Harry S. Truman brought this furnishing out of storage so that it could be used again. Other presidents who have used this desk include Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The Hoover Desk

Photo credit: The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library
Photo credit: The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library

After the West Wing fire, the Oval Office was left damaged—and therefore in need of new furnishings. A group of furniture makers from Grand Rapids, Michigan, donated a new desk for President Hebert Hoover to use, and it stayed in the Oval Office even after the space was refurbished. This desk was later used by Franklin Delano Roosevelt—and it’s now on display at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York.

The Resolute Desk

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

The Resolute desk is made of oak timbers that were once part of the HMS Resolute, a British Royal Navy ship. Queen Victoria gifted this desk to Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880 as a way of thanking him for rescuing and returning the ship after it was abandoned in 1854 during a search for Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin.

Arguably the most famous photo of the Resolute desk is the one in which a young John F. Kennedy Jr. playfully hides inside the door enclosure at the front of the desk. What many may not know is that this door was added for Franklin Delano Roosevelt as a way to hide the leg braces he used during his battle with polio. Unfortunately, this addition was not completed until the months following Roosevelt’s death, so he was never able to use this feature.

A grand total of eight presidents have used the Resolute desk: John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden.

The Johnson Desk

Photo credit: The LBJ Presidential Library
Photo credit: The LBJ Presidential Library

The Johnson desk is the only Oval Office furnishing that was used by just one president. As its name suggests, the Johnson desk was used by President Lyndon B. Johnson, beginning with his time spent as a United States Senator. It is now located in the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum in Austin, Texas.

The Wilson Desk

Photo credit: Library of Congress
Photo credit: Library of Congress

Although it was once believed that Vice President Henry Wilson used this desk, this was later disproved, but the name ‘Wilson desk’ is still used to refer to this piece of furniture. Former presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford used this desk during their presidencies—and Nixon first used it during his time as vice president.

The C&O Desk

Photo credit: The National Archives and Records Administration
Photo credit: The National Archives and Records Administration

George H.W. Bush is the only president to have used the C&O desk in the Oval Office. Other presidents also used this furnishing, but only in the West Wing Study—those presidents were Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. This desk was originally made in 1920, for the owners of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, but it was later donated to the White House.

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