Francis Scott Key (1779–1843) was an American lawyer and amateur poet who wrote the words of The Star-Spangled Banner after watching the British bombardment of Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, in September 1814. The song became the national anthem of the United States in 1931.
Works
The Star-Spangled Banner
Maryland
Francis Scott Key was born on 1 August 1779 at Terra Rubra, his family's plantation in Frederick County, Maryland. He studied at St. John's College in Annapolis and became a lawyer in Georgetown, near Washington.
A devout Episcopalian, he wrote hymns and occasional poems, and was active in his church all his life.
Fort McHenry
In September 1814, during the War of 1812, Key was sent with the prisoner-exchange agent John Stuart Skinner to negotiate the release of an elderly doctor, William Beanes, held by the British fleet. Their mission succeeded, but they were kept on board during the attack on Baltimore.
On 13 and 14 September they watched the bombardment of Fort McHenry through the night. At dawn, seeing the great American flag still flying over the fort, Key began writing the poem that became The Star-Spangled Banner.
Later life
Key later served as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1833 to 1841. He owned slaves, but supported the American Colonization Society and represented some enslaved people seeking freedom in court; his record on slavery is much debated today.
He died in Baltimore on 11 January 1843. He is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland, beneath a monument with a flag that flies day and night.
Anecdotes
A Fitzgerald
The novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose full name was Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, was a distant relative, named after him.
The original flag
The flag Key saw over Fort McHenry, a huge banner made by Mary Pickersgill, is preserved at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington.
Frequently asked questions
When did The Star-Spangled Banner become the national anthem?
By an act of Congress signed on 3 March 1931.
What did Key see?
The British bombardment of Fort McHenry, in Baltimore harbour, on 13–14 September 1814, and the flag still flying at dawn.
Was Key a professional poet?
No, he was a lawyer who wrote verse as an amateur.