Who wrote the lyrics of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a national symbol relevant to America250?

Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a national symbol relevant to America250.

Key wrote the poem “Defence of Fort M'Henry” after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry near Baltimore during the War of 1812. He saw the American flag still flying after the attack on September 14, 1814, and drafted the poem soon afterward.

The words were later set to the melody of “To Anacreon in Heaven,” an English drinking song associated with the Anacreontic Society. That tune was already familiar in the United States, helping the poem spread in print and performance.

Congress made “The Star-Spangled Banner” the national anthem in 1931. Key wrote four stanzas, but public performances usually use only the first. The flag that inspired him survives at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.