Who wrote the lyrics that became the U.S. national anthem, highlighted in America250 history?

Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics that became the U.S. national anthem.

Key wrote the poem “Defence of Fort M’Henry” in September 1814 after witnessing the British attack on Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. The large American flag still flying over the fort inspired the poem’s famous opening question about seeing the flag by dawn’s early light. The poem was later set to the melody of a British song written by John Stafford Smith.

The song became widely known as “The Star-Spangled Banner,” taking its name from the flag that inspired Key. It was performed at public events for decades before receiving official national-anthem status. President Herbert Hoover signed the law that made it the national anthem in 1931.

Key wrote the words, but he did not compose the melody. That distinction explains why John Stafford Smith is sometimes incorrectly offered as the lyricist. The anthem officially contains four stanzas, although public performances usually use only the first.