June 7, 1898, President William McKinley at his desk

Library of Congress description: William McKinley, full-length portrait, seated at desk, facing right, June 7, 1898. Library of Congress image

If you think the office looks smaller than today’s Oval Office, you’re right. Creation of the Oval Office came 11 years after this photo, when President William Howard Taft expanded the permanent structure of the West Wing of the White House in 1909. On the right of the photo is the massive globe map of the world probably most famous from photos with Teddy Roosevelt, who succeeded to the presidency in 1901 when McKinley was assassinated.