Inside museums
The coconut that saved JFK's life is now in a museum—and you can see it!
Image: Milada Vigerova
Many US presidents are remembered for their service and sacrifices, some even giving their lives for the nation. But sometimes, we forget they were also ordinary people, with lives full of both extraordinary moments and everyday routines, just like the rest of us. And part of that story lives on in these 10 personal items that belonged to presidents and are still on display in museums today.
1
John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 coconut
Image: 🇻🇪 Jose G. Ortega Castro 🇲🇽
In 1943, John F. Kennedy commanded the PT-109, a torpedo boat, in the Solomon Islands during World War II . When a Japanese destroyer sank his boat, JFK carved a rescue message on a coconut, which local islanders delivered to Allied forces, saving him and his crew. 18 years later, Kennedy became the US president and kept the coconut as a paperweight in his office. Today, it’s preserved at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.
2
George Washington's dentures
Image: BakedintheHole, via Wikimedia Commons
Everyone knows George Washington struggled with dental problems throughout his life. And while the old myth about his wooden teeth isn’t true, our first president did wear dentures made from different materials. One of his most complete sets has been carefully preserved and is now on display at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate and museum.
3
Abraham Lincoln’s top hat
Image: Brewbooks from near Seattle, USA, via Wikimedia Commons
It’s easy to picture Abraham Lincoln with his signature top hat. To get a little closer to Honest Abe, you can visit the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., where the very hat he wore the night he was fatally shot is on display.
4
The contents of Lincoln's pockets
Image: Jorien Loman
The hat isn’t the only relic that remained from that tragic night. Everything Abraham Lincoln had in his pockets —two pairs of glasses, a pocketknife, a Confederate $5 bill, a linen handkerchief, and a gold pocket watch—is preserved and on display at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
5
Thomas Jefferson’s inkwell
Image: Clark Young
Fortunately, you can still see with your own eyes two of the inkwells that belonged to the man who penned nothing less than the Declaration of Independence. That’s right! The first, a ceramic inkwell shaped like Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire’s head, is housed at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello. The second, made of bronze and engraved with "T. Jefferson, 1804," is part of the White House Collection.
6
Theodore Roosevelt's pince-nez glasses
Image: via Wikimedia Commons
Teddy Roosevelt is practically synonymous with his pince-nez glasses; even the giant sculpture of his face on Mount Rushmore shows him wearing them. But did you know they once saved his life? In 1912, while campaigning, Roosevelt was shot, but the bullet struck the steel case holding his glasses and didn’t penetrate it. Today, both the case and the 50-page manuscript he carried in the same pocket are on display at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site in New York City.
7
John F. Kennedy's rocking chair
Image: Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
President Kennedy’s rocking chair appeared in many photos of him with important visitors in the White House. Recommended by his doctor to ease his back pain, the iconic chair is now part of the collection at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
8
George Washington’s Revolutionary War bedstead
Image: Wikimedia Commons
If you thought this list was just about small objects, think again. Two of George Washington’s folding field beds from the Revolutionary War have also been preserved. One is displayed at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan, and the other can be seen at the Mount Vernon Museum in Virginia.
9
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s stamp collection
Image: Tolga deniz Aran
F. D. Roosevelt was an avid stamp collector, amassing a collection of over 1.2 million stamps. After his death, his family sold most of them, but some—especially those he received officially from foreign governments—are preserved at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York. The museum also houses items related to his hobby, including a magnifying glass, a perforation gauge for measuring stamps, and his portable wooden stamp box.
10
George Washington’s dress sword
Image: Wonderlane
In addition to his dentures, Mount Vernon preserves many other personal items that belonged to George Washington. Among them are several of his swords, and it is believed that one of them may be the very dress sword he wore at his inauguration as the first American president in 1789!
