Shipwrecks to the Oval Office: The History of the Resolute Desk

Did you know that the famous Resolute Desk, which stands proudly in the White House’s Oval Office, was made from timbers from a British Arctic exploration shipwreck? Read on to learn all about the history of America’s most celebrated desk in this legendary story of sea exploration, science, goodwill, diplomacy, and a bit of Victorian-era heartbreak.

Once a Ship, Now a Desk

In today’s world of satellites, drones, and the ever-expanding internet, it’s hard to believe that just a couple of hundred years ago, massive wooden ships were still being launched from western ports on expeditions to explore mysterious lands like the Arctic. Although Europeans had been searching for a shortcut between Europe and Asia since the 15th century (thanks, Christopher Columbus), even after a few hundred years, those giant seafaring vessels were still primarily made of wood.

While many of these ships are now long gone, whether weathered away at the bottom of the ocean floor or simply dismantled, the remains of the HMS Resolute have been preserved as the president’s favorite desk in the Oval Office.

The Beginning: 19th C. Arctic Expeditions with the HMS Erebus & HMS Terror

So, how did this all start? We begin with Sir John Barrow, who had advocated for new expeditions toward the North Pole even since his 1804 appointment to become Secretary of the British Admiralty, overseeing the Royal Navy. Barrow sought to find a Northwest Passage over Canada and successfully managed decades of exploration of the territory.

By 1845, there was little left to explore besides an area through the Lancaster Sound; however, Barrow was anxious to get this area covered as he was now in his early 80s and near the end of his time with the Admiralty. Barrow assigned John Franklin to command two ships, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, setting sail on the morning of May 19, 1845, from Kent, England. It took 30 days to reach Greenland, where sailors sent their last letters home, and ten oxen were slaughtered for fresh meat for the ensuing voyage.

The ships set sail again and made it to Baffin Bay in late July, where they encountered whaling ships Enterprise and Prince of Wales. From there, no Europeans ever saw the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror again.

The Middle: The Search for Shipwrecks and “Lady’s Franklin’s Lament”

So, what happened to these ships? The story has the making of a legend, albeit quite a tragic one. As with many 19th-century shipwrecks, the record is foggy, with scant information from different sources, many of which are letters or notes, as opposed to complete journals or bound sailing records.

In any event, the Erebus and Terror did not complete their expedition and likely ultimately got stuck in the ice off King William Sound in the fall of 1846. Most of the crew perished, including leader Franklin, whose death was recorded on June 11, 1847.

However, back in Great Britain, no one knew what had happened to the ships for years, and public pressure gradually mounted enough for the Admiralty to send a search party in 1848. No one, especially Franklin’s wife Jane, knew that by that time, it was too late for Franklin and much of his crew. Jane, also known as Lady Franklin, was a seasoned explorer herself and the second wife of John Franklin. She was so distraught by her husband’s vanishing at sea that her mourning became legendary, with traditional folk ballads like “Lady Franklin’s Lament” soon sung on the streets and in taverns.

The End: The Stuck HMS Resolute & Queen Victoria’s Gift

Search parties continued through the early 1850s, with more ship losses than discoveries of what really happened to the Erebus and Terror. In 1852, five more ships set off for the Arctic, with four of them (HMS Assistance, Intrepid, Pioneer, and Resolute) getting stuck and abandoned in pack ice. So much for that!

But, finally, we get to the story of the Resolute Desk. In 1855, the American whaling ship George Henry encountered the grand HMS Resolute ship stuck in the Arctic ice and took it upon itself to bring it back to the US for repair. The United States then returned the fixed-up HMS Resolute to the United Kingdom as a gesture of goodwill. See how diplomacy works?

In the story’s next chapter, the UK eventually decommissioned this giant ship in 1879, but had the foresight to keep some of the lovely giant timbers after breaking it up. Queen Victoria had three desks made from these stately timbers, and one of them was sent to President Rutherford B. Hayes, where it was installed in the White House on November 23, 1880.

Home in the Oval Office

The Resolute Desk was used in various locations in the White House, such as the Broadcast Room, where Eisenhower sat during TV and radio broadcasts until 34th First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy rediscovered it and brought it to the Oval Office in 1961. The desk has traveled a bit since then as part of Kennedy Presidential Library exhibits, but it has been in the White House since 1977 and the years of Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

The Resolute Desk has been proudly used in the Oval Office by the United States’s five most recent presidents, standing as a symbol of exploration, science, discovery, goodwill, diplomacy, and, of course, the heartbreak of men lost at sea as put to song in Lady Franklin’s Lament:

We were homeward bound one night on the deep
Swinging in my hammock I fell asleep
I dreamed a dream and I thought it true
Concerning Franklin and his gallant crew

With a hundred seamen he sailed away
To the frozen ocean in the month of May
To seek a passage around the pole
Where we poor sailors do sometimes go

Through cruel hardships they vainly strove
Their ships on mountains of ice were drove
Only the Eskimo with his skin canoe
Was the only one that ever came through

In Baffin’s Bay where the whale fish blow
The fate of Franklin no man may know
The fate of Franklin no tongue can tell
Lord Franklin alone with his sailors do dwell

And now my burden it gives me pain
For my long-lost Franklin I would cross the main
Ten thousand pounds I would freely give
To know on earth, that my Franklin do live

Amy Moyer is the proprietor of Antmuffin: Art, Antiques & Collectibles. She holds a B.A. in Visual Arts from Brown University and lives in Boston.

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