I always thought that the Presidents used the same office desks in the Oval Office, but this is not the case. Currently, President George W. Bush is using the Resolute Desk. According to the White House Site This Desk is made from “the timbers of H.M.S. 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 to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.”

The desk was modified by President Franklin D. Roosevelt who requested that it be fitted with a panel carved with the Presidential coat-of-arms. It was installed in 1945 after the death of Roosevelt. President Reagan had it raised 2″ to accommodate his height (6′2″).

Only Presidents Johnson, Nixon and Ford have not used the desk since Hayes first used it in 1880.