who wrote the national anthem

The national anthem of the United States, "The Star-Spangled Banner," was written by Francis Scott Key. He wrote the lyrics as a poem called "Defence of Fort M'Henry" on September 14, 1814, after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 and seeing the American flag still flying over the fort the next morning. The poem was later set to the music of a popular British tune and eventually became the U.S. national anthem.