Who wrote the poem that became the lyrics of the United States national anthem?

Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that became the lyrics of the United States national anthem.

Key composed “The Defence of Fort M’Henry” in September 1814 after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry near Baltimore during the War of 1812. Seeing the American flag still flying the next morning inspired the poem’s famous imagery.

The words were soon published and set to the tune of “Anacreon in Heaven,” an English melody associated with a gentlemen’s singing club. Over time, the poem became known by its opening words, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Congress made “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official national anthem on March 3, 1931. Key wrote four stanzas, but public performances usually use only the first. The anthem’s subject is the flag surviving the attack, not the later national celebrations surrounding it.