The Tay Bridge Disaster The Tay Bridge Disaster "The Tay Bridge Disaster" is a poem written in 1880 by the Scottish poet William McGonagall, who has been widely recognised as the worst poet in history. The poem recounts the events of the evening of December 28, 1879, when, during a severe gale, the Tay Rail Bridge at Dundee collapsed as a train was passing over it with the loss of all on board (now thought to be 75 people and not 90 as stated in the poem). The foundations of the bridge were not removed and are alongside the newer bridge. The poem is
John Tay stop at Tahiti to pick up John I. Tay, then continue to Pitcairn Island where Cudney could perform the promised baptisms. However, the "Phoebe Chapman" was lost at sea without trace, and John Tay returned from Tahiti to the US. The General Conference eventually paid for a ship to be built for missionary expeditions in the South Pacific. After a fund raising campaign, the schooner "Pitcairn" was purchased for US $12,000 in 1890. The "Pitcairn" reached Pitcairn Island on 25 November 1890 bringing Tay and his wife with the elders Gates and Read and their wives. On 26 November 1890