Who composed the melody used for “The Star-Spangled Banner”?

John Stafford Smith composed the melody used for “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Smith was an English composer, church organist, and music librarian. He wrote the tune for “The Anacreontic Song,” associated with London’s Anacreontic Society in the late eighteenth century. The melody later crossed the Atlantic and became familiar in the United States.

Francis Scott Key did not compose the music. He wrote the poem “Defence of Fort M'Henry” in 1814 after seeing the American flag flying over Fort McHenry following the British attack during the War of 1812. The poem was soon fitted to Smith’s existing tune.

The song became increasingly popular during the nineteenth century and was officially designated the national anthem in 1931. Smith’s name is often overlooked because Key is more closely associated with the anthem’s words and historical inspiration.