Francis Scott Key, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Francis Scott Key

American lawyer and poet

Date of Birth: 01-Aug-1779

Place of Birth: Terra Rubra, Maryland, United States

Date of Death: 11-Jan-1843

Profession: writer, lawyer, poet, lyricist, poet lawyer

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Leo


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About Francis Scott Key

  • Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779 – January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland who is best known for writing the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". 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 more than a century later under President Herbert Hoover as the national anthem. 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 U.S.
  • attorney for the District of Columbia by President Andrew Jackson, where he served from 1833 to 1841.
  • Key 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".
  • He freed his slaves in the 1830s, paying one ex-slave as his farm foreman.
  • He publicly criticized slavery and gave free legal representation to some slaves seeking freedom, but he also represented owners of runaway slaves.
  • As District Attorney, he suppressed abolitionists and did not support an immediate end to slavery.
  • He was also a leader of the American Colonization Society which sent freed slaves back to Africa.

Read more at Wikipedia

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