4th United States Attorney for the District of Columbia
In office 1833–1841
President
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
Preceded by
Thomas Swann
Succeeded by
Philip Richard Fendall II
Personal details
Born
(1779-08-01)August 1, 1779 Frederick County, Maryland (now Carroll County)
Died
January 11, 1843(1843-01-11) (aged 63) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Resting place
Mt. Olivet Cemetery
Spouse
Mary Tayloe Lloyd
(m. 1802)
Children
11,[1] including Philip
Relatives
Philip Barton Key (uncle) John Tayloe II (grandfather) John Tayloe III (uncle) Francis Key Howard (grandson) F. Scott Fitzgerald (distant cousin) Roger B. Taney (brother-in-law)[2]
Occupation
Poet
lawyer
Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779 – January 11, 1843)[3] was an American lawyer, author, and poet from Frederick, Maryland, best known as the author of the text of the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner".[4] Key observed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814 during the War of 1812. He was inspired upon seeing the American flag still flying over the fort at dawn and wrote the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry"; it was published within a week with the suggested tune of the popular song "To Anacreon in Heaven". The song with Key's lyrics became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner" and slowly gained in popularity as an unofficial anthem, finally achieving official status as the national anthem more than a century later under President Herbert Hoover.
Key was a lawyer in Maryland and Washington, D.C. for four decades and worked on important cases, including the Burr conspiracy trial, and he argued numerous times before the Supreme Court. He was nominated for District Attorney for the District of Columbia by President Andrew Jackson, where he served from 1833 to 1841. He was a devout Episcopalian.
Key owned slaves from 1800, during which time abolitionists ridiculed his words, claiming that America was more like the "Land of the Free and Home of the Oppressed".[5] As District Attorney, he suppressed abolitionists, and he lost a case against Reuben Crandall in 1836 where he accused the defendant's abolitionist publications of instigating slaves to rebel. He was also a leader of the American Colonization Society which sent former slaves to Africa.[6][7] He freed some of his slaves in the 1830s, paying one as his farm foreman to supervise his other slaves.[8] He publicly criticized slavery and gave free legal representation to some slaves seeking freedom, but he also represented owners of runaway slaves. He had eight slaves at the time of his death.[9]
^Leepson, Marc, What so Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, a life (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), Appendix A, p. 202
^"'Star Spangled Banner,' Key and Chief Justice Taney – Did Taney Make a Pre-Nuptial Agreement with His Wife?". The American Catholic Historical Researches. 8 (1). American Catholic Historical Society: 87–90. January 1912. JSTOR 44375033. Retrieved August 1, 2022 – via JSTOR.
^Penton, Kemberly (September 14, 2016). "Remembering Francis Scott Key: The Man Behind America's National Anthem 'The Star-Spangled Banner'". Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
^Lineberry, Cate (March 1, 2007). "The Story Behind the Star Spangled Banner". Smithsonian. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
^"Where's the Debate on Francis Scott Key's Slave-Holding Legacy?". Smithsonian. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
^"The unexpected connection between slavery, NFL protests and the national anthem". CNN. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
^"Francis Scott Key's life was a lot more complicated than just writing The Star-Spangled Banner". The Washington Examiner. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
^Cite error: The named reference Leepson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference UNCP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
FrancisScottKey (August 1, 1779 – January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and poet from Frederick, Maryland, best known as the author of the...
main spans and the three nearest northeast approach spans of the FrancisScottKey Bridge across the Patapsco River in the Baltimore metropolitan area...
FrancisScottKey Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Frederick, Maryland, United States. Opened in 1978, it is anchored by JCPenney, Macy's, Value City...
then operated by Synergy Marine of Singapore, she collided with the FrancisScottKey Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, causing a catastrophic structural failure...
FrancisScottKey School is a public elementary school located in the Central South Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a part...
FrancisScottKey Memorial is a park and memorial located in the District of Columbia neighborhood of Georgetown; at the intersection of 34th and M Streets...
SS FrancisScottKey was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after FrancisScottKey, an American lawyer, author...
the same neighborhood. Key was a direct descendant of FrancisScottKey, the author of The Star-Spangled Banner. DeGarmo and Key toured the world, headlining...
"Star-Spangled Banner" writer FrancisScottKey, a native of Frederick County. A new team mascot "Frank Key", short for FrancisScottKey, joined the current mascot...
Carnival Glory sustained a minor injury. Following the collapse of the FrancisScottKey Bridge on March 26, Carnival Legend was rerouted to Norfolk, Virginia...
has been involved in salvage efforts at Baltimore, following the FrancisScottKey Bridge collapse. The crane barge was built by Kelso Marine in Galveston...
Pulitzer Gold Medal for public service. Following the collapse of the FrancisScottKey Bridge in Baltimore in April 2024, The Lever reported that "eight...
endangers the structure, as exemplified by the collapse of Baltimore's FrancisScottKey Bridge in March 2024. However, continuous truss bridges do not experience...
Baltimore Sun daily newspaper. Since March 26, 2024, the collapse of the FrancisScottKey Bridge has blocked ships' access to the port, which remains reachable...
administrations). His maternal grandparents were Mary Tayloe (née Lloyd) Key and FrancisScottKey, the lawyer, author, and amateur poet who is best known today...
Aftermath of the FrancisScottKey Bridge collapse: Construction crews use explosives to demolish the remaining parts of the FrancisScottKey Bridge in Baltimore...
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