The mountain is named for Henry Clay, 19th-century senator and U.S. Secretary of State from Kentucky, known as The Great Compromiser. In 2003, the New Hampshire state legislature, participating in a Reagan Legacy project, made it state law that Mt. Clay shall hereafter be called and known as Mount Reagan, after President Ronald Reagan. The legal force of this is limited to actions by the state of New Hampshire. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) voted in May 2010 not to change the name of the mountain. Maps used in connection with foot travel in the Presidentials are typically published by the U.S. Geological Survey (which adheres by law to BGN's naming), and by the Appalachian Mountain Club and two New England companies, all three of whom as of 2010[ [update]] use Clay and make no mention of Reagan.