Francis Scott Key

Francis Scott Key
Francis Scott Key circa 1825
Born	(1779-08-01)August 1, 1779 Frederick County (now Carroll County), Maryland, U.S.
Died	January 11, 1843(1843-01-11) (aged 63) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Poet, lawyer, district attorney
Spouse(s)	Mary Tayloe Lloyd
Children	Elizabeth Phoebe Howard Maria Lloyd Steele Francis Scott Key, Jr. John Ross Key Ann Arnold Turner Edward Lloyd Key Daniel Murray Key Philip Barton Key II Ellen Lloyd Blunt Mary Alicia Lloyd Nevins Pendleton Charles Henry Key
Relatives	Philip Barton Key, uncle Francis Key Howard, grandson F. Scott Fitzgerald, distant cousin Philip Barton Key, Jr., first cousin

Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779 – January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Georgetown who wrote the lyrics to the United States' national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner".

Francis Scott Key was born to Ann Phoebe Penn Dagworthy (Charlton) and Captain John Ross Key at the family plantation Terra Rubra in what was then part of Frederick County, now Carroll County, Maryland. His father was a lawyer, judge, and officer in the Continental Army. His great-grandparents on his father's side, Philip Key and Susanna Barton Gardiner, were both born in London and then immigrated to Maryland in 1726.

Key graduated from St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland, and "read the law" under an uncle, Philip Barton Key who was (and his wife) Loyalists during the War of Independence.. He married Mary Tayloe Lloyd on January 1, 1802.

During the War of 1812, Key, accompanied by the British Prisoner Exchange Agent Colonel John Stuart Skinner, dined aboard the British ship HMS Tonnant as the guests of three British officers: Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane, Rear Admiral George Cockburn, and Major General Robert Ross. Skinner and Key were there to negotiate the release of prisoners, one of whom was Dr. William Beanes, a resident of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, who had been arrested after jailing marauding British troops who were looting local farms. Skinner, Key, and Beanes were not allowed to return to their own sloop because they had become familiar with the strength and position of the British units and with the British intent to attack Baltimore. Thus, Key was unable to do anything but watch the bombarding of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore on the night of September 13–14, 1814.