Episode Details

One of the most famous pieces of furniture in the world wasn't built for a president. It was built from the timbers of a ship that refused to die.

In this episode of History Shorts, we uncover the remarkable journey of the Resolute Desk, the iconic centerpiece of the Oval Office. Its story begins not in Washington, but in the frozen Arctic, where the British exploration ship HMS Resolute became trapped in the ice and was abandoned by its crew. Miraculously, the ship drifted free, was discovered by an American whaling vessel, and returned to Britain as a gesture of goodwill between two former enemies.

Years later, when the aging vessel was retired, Queen Victoria commissioned a magnificent desk crafted from its oak timbers and presented it as a gift to Rutherford B. Hayes.

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