William Miller Memorial, Glasgow Necropolis

William Miller (August 1810 – 20 August 1872) was a Scottish poet best known for the

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From t ...

Wee Willie Winkie "Wee Willie Winkie" is a Scottish nursery rhyme whose titular figure has become popular as a personification of sleep. The poem was written by William Miller and titled "Willie Winkie", first published in '' Whistle-binkie: Stories for the Fir ...

''.The Victorians By Valentine Cunningham
/ref>
/ref>Dennistoun online
/ref> Miller, known as "The Laureate of the Nursery", was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and lived in

Dennistoun Dennistoun is a mostly residential district in Glasgow, Scotland, located north of the River Clyde and in the city's east end, about east of the city centre. Since 2017 it has formed the core of a Dennistoun ward under Glasgow City Council, ...

, Scotland. He suffered from ill health and was unable to become a surgeon and instead took up

woodturning Woodturning is the craft of using a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. Like the potter's wheel, the wood lathe is a simple mechanism that can generate a variety of forms. The operator ...

and

cabinet making A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (s ...

. At the same time he began writing poetry and children's rhymes, mainly in the

Scots language Scots ( endonym: ''Scots''; gd, Albais, ) is an Anglic language variety in the West Germanic language family, spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster in the north of Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots). Most commonly ...

. His poetry was published in various works including the '' Whistle-binkie'' books. In 1842, ''Whistle-binkie: Stories for the Fireside'' was published and contained the rhyme Wee Willie Winkie. The poem would go on to become known in other countries, in translation, and made Miller famous at the time. In 1871, Miller's leg became ulcerated and he had to retire from cabinet making. The leg became infected and led to his death in 1872 aged 62. By then Miller was destitute and was buried at Tollcross. Later a memorial to Miller was erected on the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typical for the period, only ...

References

External links

''Nursery Songs and other Poems''
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Scottish Nursery Songs and other Poems by William Miller
at Dennistoun online
Whistle-binkie
edited by

John Donald Carrick John Donald Carrick (1787–1837) was a Scottish journalist and songwriter. Life Carrick was born in Glasgow in April 1787; his father was originally from Buchlyvie in Stirlingshire. He was placed in the office of Nicholson, a Glasgow architect, ...

, Alexander Rodger, David Robertson, contains Willie Winkie and the autograph of Miller 1810 births 1872 deaths Scottish poets Writers from Glasgow People from Dennistoun 19th-century poets {{UK-poet-stub