Minister Ottaline Gambol (b.19 January 1881–d. 1994) was a British Minister for Magic who was in office between 1929 and 1939. Fascinated with Muggle technology, she "daring[ly] and controversial[ly]" proposed the train as a solution to the age-old dilemma of how to transport hundreds of students to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry without attracting non-magic attention, leading to the creation of the Hogwarts Express.