But I may say Dame Fortune has been very kind to me by endowing me with the genius of poetry. I remember how I felt when I received the spirit of poetry. It was in the year of 1877.

Notes from Wikiquote

McGonagall's "knighthood" was an honorary one conferred on him by King Theebaw of the Andaman Islands: "Knight of the White Elephant of Burmah".

The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay (1878)

The Tay Bridge Disaster (1880)

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: William McGonagall (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.