John Stafford Smith (* March 30, 1750 in Gloucester; † September 21, 1836 in London) was an English singer (tenor), composer and musicologist.
Like his father Martin Smith, Smith was an organist and made a name for himself in particular as a musicologist.
His first lessons were given to him by his father. He was then a pupil of the pedagogues Boyce and Nares in London. He was employed as a tenor in the choir of the Chapel Royal and in 1784 he was made a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal. After his father resigned his post in 1790, he succeeded him as organist at Gloucester Cathedral.
In 1812, he published a two-volume work, ''Musica antiqua''. He is considered to be the creator of the melody known as the American national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner, but this melody was possibly only in a collection published by Smith as the drinking song To Anacreon in Heaven.
