Why is there no computer in the Oval Office?

As the Explainer noted last year, previous presidents, including Bush and Clinton, went without computers and e-mail in order to avoid the Presidential Records Acts of 1978, which requires commanders-in-chief to archive their correspondence and make it public.

Do presidents use the same desk in the Oval Office?

The Resolute has been used by all U.S. presidents since 1977 with the exception of George H.W. Bush, who used the C&O desk for his one term, making it the shortest-serving desk to date. Other past presidents have used the Hoover desk, the Johnson desk, and the Wilson desk.

Does the President decorate the Oval Office?

Presidents generally decorate the office to suit their personal taste, choosing new furniture, new drapery, and designing their own oval-shaped carpet to cover most of the floor. Artwork is selected from the White House’s own collection, or borrowed from museums for the president’s term in office.

What presidents have used the Resolute desk in the Oval Office?

This double pedestal partners’ desk, usually called the “Resolute desk”, was made from the oak timbers of the British ship H.M.S. Resolute as a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes from Queen Victoria in 1880. It has been used by every president since Hayes, excepting Presidents Johnson, Nixon, and Ford, 1964-1977.

What was Obama’s desk made from?

Resolute desk

President Barack Obama sitting at the Resolute desk in 2009
Designer	William Evenden (probably from a design by Morant, Boyd, & Blanford) Kneehole panel designed by Lorenzo Winslow built by Rudolph Bauss
Date	1880
Materials	Oak timbers of HMS Resolute
Style / tradition	Partners desk

How old is the Resolute desk?

The history of The Presidents Desk (or as it is sometimes called The Resolute Desk) began in 1852 with the British Man of War ship, H.M.S. Resolute.