Who wrote the words of “The Star-Spangled Banner”?

Francis Scott Key wrote the words of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” He composed the poem after witnessing the American defense of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.

Key was a lawyer who had gone aboard a British ship to negotiate the release of American prisoners. He could not leave during the attack on Baltimore, and from offshore he watched the bombardment of Fort McHenry through the night of September 13–14, 1814. Seeing the American flag still flying at dawn inspired his poem, originally titled “Defence of Fort M’Henry.”

The poem was set to the tune of a popular English song called “To Anacreon in Heaven.” Congress adopted “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem in 1931. Key wrote four stanzas, although public performances usually use only the first.