HMS Resolute

Her Majesty's visit to the Arctic Ship "Resolute" in Cowes Harbour. The Illustrated London News, December 27, 1956.

The HMS Resolute HMS was a mid-19th century barque-rigged ship of the British Royal Navy, specially outfitted for Arctic exploration.. Abandoned north of the Arctic Circle in 1854, the HMS Resolute was later found by the crew of an American whaling ship, refitted, and sent to Queen Victoria as a token of goodwill. When the ship was later dismantled, the "Resolute" desk was made from timbers of the ship, and Queen Victoria gave it to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. Every President from President Hayes through President Dwight D. Eisenhower used the desk; it was first placed in the Oval Office in 1961 at the request of President John F. Kennedy.

After being on exhibit for ten years at the Smithsonian Institution, the Resolute was put back into use by President Jimmy Carter. The Resolute was also used in the Oval Office by President Ronald Reagan and for a few months by President George Bush. On January 20, 1993, the historic desk was returned to the Oval Office once again, at the request of President Clinton.

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By Illustrated London News [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons