March 4th, 2024
National Anthem Day
Sunday, March 3, was National Anthem Day. It’s a day celebrated for when Congress made the “Star-Spangled Banner” our national anthem. It was written by Francis Scott Key on Sept. 14, 1814. However, on March 3, 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional resolution making the song the national anthem of the United States.
With National Anthem Day just behind us, I thought it would be fun to look at some history of our national anthem. The following are fun facts about the “Star-Spangled Banner” and Francis Scott Key you may not know:
- The “Star-Spangled Banner” is about a battle in the War of 1812;
- The Battle of Fort McHenry inspired Francis Scott Key to write the “Star-Spangled Banner;”
- The “Star-Spangled Banner” was originally titled “Defence of Fort M’Henry;”
- The “Star-Spangled Banner,” written by Francis Scott Key, actually has four verses, but we often only sing the first;
- A fifth verse of the “Star-Spangled Banner” was written in 1861 by poet Oliver Wendell Holmes;
- Francis Scott Key was born on Aug. 1, 1779, in Middleburg, Md;
- Francis Scott Key was a successful lawyer in Washington, D.C.;
- Francis Scott Key was a slave owner, but often advocated for slaves and opposed slave trafficking;
- In 1816, Francis Scott Key helped found the American Colonization Society that promoted the emigration of African Americans from the United States to Africa, and
- Francis Scott Key died on 11, 1843, in Baltimore, Md.
Here’s hoping you had a great National Anthem Day!
;)
