Francis Scott Key

Lawyer, author, and poet who wrote the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner," which would later become the U.S. National Anthem. He was inspired to write the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner" after witnessing the bloody attack of Fort McHenry by the British forces while aboard the British ship HMS Tonnant. He defended Sam Houston in 1832 during Houston's trial for assaulting a Congressional colleague. He served from 1833 until 1841 as a United States District Attorney.  He married Mary P