Daily Quiz for November 2, 2008

Francis Scott Key. Lawyer and poet Francis Scott Key was the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 1833 to 1841, serving under three presidents. Key penned the verses to “The Star-Spangled Banner” after watching the British bombardment of Fort McHenry on the night of September 13, 1814, during the War of 1812. Key’s four-stanza verse was later put to the tune of a British drinking song and became enormously popular. It officially became the American national anthem on March 3, 1931. These were the only lyrics Key ever composed.