Introduced By: Senator Donelan
Date Introduced : May 5, 1998
WHEREAS, Francis Scott Key was born in Maryland in 1779 and was a lawyer and a poet; and
WHEREAS, During the War of 1812, Key noticed the American flag flying over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor following a bloody battle with the British; and
WHEREAS, Printing the words on a handbill, then in a Baltimore newspaper, he put the lyrics to a popular English drinking song "To Anacreon in Heaven," composed by John Stafford Smith; and
WHEREAS, On March 3, 1931, Congress approved an act making "The Star Spangled Banner" the national anthem of the United States; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations hereby proclaims August 1, 1998 and each year thereafter, as Francis Scott Key Day in the State of Rhode Island and urges all Rhode Islanders to honor his memory; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he is hereby authorized and directed to transmit a duly certified copy of the resolution to the Rhode Island Historic Society.
