Who wrote the lyrics to 'The Star-Spangled Banner'?

Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Key was a Maryland lawyer and amateur poet who wrote the words in September 1814 during the War of 1812. He had watched the British bombardment of Fort McHenry from a ship in Baltimore Harbor and was inspired by the sight of the American flag still flying over the fort after the attack. His poem was originally titled “Defence of Fort M'Henry.”

The melody was not written by Key. It was adapted from “The Anacreontic Song,” a popular British tune associated with the Anacreontic Society and credited to English composer John Stafford Smith. This is the source of a common quiz mix-up: Key wrote the words, while Stafford Smith supplied the music.

The poem has four stanzas, but public performances usually use only the first. Congress made the song the official U.S. national anthem on March 3, 1931.