The story
Named after John Winthrop, 17th-century governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Winthrop died in 1647, before this kind of desk was invented (in the 18th century), but his name was attached to these desks by the Winthrop Furniture Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, who offered their "Gov. Winthrop" desk in 1924, during the colonial revival period.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.