About the artist
Francis Scott Key (1779–1843) was an American lawyer, poet, and amateur songwriter from Georgetown, Washington, D.C., remembered above all for writing the lyrics that became «The Star-Spangled Banner», the national anthem of the United States. He composed the poem after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor during the War of 1812, moved by the sight of the American flag still flying over the fort at dawn.
The verses were later set to the melody of a popular British tune, and the resulting song spread widely through the nineteenth century as a patriotic anthem before being formally adopted as the U.S. national anthem in 1931. Key himself was primarily a practicing attorney rather than a professional musician or poet, and the anthem remains by far his most enduring work, far outlasting his legal career in public memory.
Beyond the anthem, Key is a historical rather than a musical figure, and his legacy is inseparable from this single text, which continues to be performed at public and sporting events across the United States and stands as one of the most recognizable patriotic songs in the world.