Scotland
Things you probably didn't know about Glasgow
The Clyde-built city that once made a quarter of the world’s ships.
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1967 — fact 1 of 5
The Clyde built the QE2
Clyde shipyards launched the Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1967 — one of thousands of famous ships built on the river.
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1899 — fact 2 of 5
Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s masterpieces
The Glasgow School of Art and the Willow Tea Rooms made "Glasgow Style" famous across Europe.
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1942 — fact 3 of 5
Billy Connolly was born here
The Big Yin started as a Clydeside shipyard welder before becoming one of Britain’s best-loved comedians.
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1197 — fact 4 of 5
A medieval cathedral that survived
Glasgow Cathedral is one of the few Scottish medieval churches to survive the Reformation almost intact.
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1990 — fact 5 of 5
European Capital of Culture
Glasgow’s 1990 tenure is often cited as the moment the city reinvented itself for the world.
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Our Glasgow collection is part of a growing local-history library — more cities and facts are being added.