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William Topaz McGonagall

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William Topaz McGonagall (1825 - September 29, 1902) was a weaver, poet, and actor. Born in Edinburgh, of Irish parentage, he was working as handloom weaver in Dundee when an event occurred that was to change his life. As he was later to write:

The most startling incident in my life was the time I discovered myself to be a poet, which was in the year 1877.

McGonagall has been widely acclaimed as the worst poet in British history. The chief criticisms of his poetry are that he is deaf to poetic metaphor and unable to scan correctly. Of the 200 or so poems that he wrote, the most famous is probably The Tay Bridge Disaster, which recounts the events of the evening of 28 December 1879, when, during a severe gale, the Tay Rail Bridge near Dundee collapsed as a train was passing over it.

''Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay!
''Alas! I am very sorry to say
''That ninety lives have been taken away
''On the last Sabbath day of 1879,
''Which will be remember'd for a very long time.

(Modern sources give the death toll as 75.)

William also campaigned vigorously against excessive drinking, appearing in pubs and bars to give edifying poems and speeches.

The memory of McGonagall was resurrected by comedian Spike Milligan. A character called McGoonagall frequently appears in The Goon Show, alternately played by Milligan and Peter Sellers. Milligan also occasionally gave readings of McGonagall's verse.

A 1970s movie called “The Great McGonagall” starred Milligan as a fictionalized William McGonagall. Sellers played Queen Victoria.

William Topaz McGonagall's name was also inspiration for the name of Minerva McGonagall, a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of books.

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