The University of Glasgow was originally located near Glasgow Cathedral when it was founded by Bishop Turnbull in 1451. It remained there for over 400 years. In 1871, the Industrial Revolution caused rapid expansion in the area, which fell into decline. A decision was made to move the university to its current Gilmorehill campus in the more affluent West End.

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The main building of the new campus echoed the original. It was designed in the Gothic revival style by Sir George Gilbert Scott, who also designed St. Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh. Sir George died in 1878, before the main building could be completed. It fell to his son Oldrid to finish the work, which included the two quadrangles and Bute Hall. The current Gilmorehill campus now boasts over 50 buildings, with additional campuses in nearby Garscube and Dumfries.

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Over the last five centuries, the University has nurtured the talents of seven Nobel laureates. This includes John Boyd Orr, who has a building named after him. Edwin Morgan, Poet Laureate and National Poet for Scotland, studied here, as did writers Alastair MacLean, James Alfred White, better known as James Herriot. John Grierson, the father of documentary filmmaking, was also a student here.

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Several politicians also gained an education at the University of Glasgow. Their ranks include two prime ministers, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and Andrew Bonar Law. Former leader of the Labour party John Smith studied here, as did Donald Dewar, first First Minister of the Scottish Parliament. SNP Leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is also a graduate.

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Scotland’s first female graduates earned their degrees here in 1894. Among their number was the Suffragette Elizabeth ‘Dorothea’ Lyness, who studied medicine here. The university boasts several medical achievements, including the world’s first ultrasound images of a foetus. This marvellous image was published by Glasgow Professor Ian Donald in 1958. 

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The university also features not one but two student unions, the Glasgow Union (GU) and the Queen Margaret Union. Despite women gaining entry into the university in the last 1800s, the GU remained a staunch male-only union. This led to the establishment of the QMU. Thankfully, in the modern age, men and women frequent both unions. The QMU is more associated with the arts, and has become one of Glasgow’s premiere live music venues.

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For fans of the film Being John Malkovich, a creative faculty member stuck a sign on a small cupboard door in the Kelvin Building. Now known as Room 256, the sign indicates that it leads to the office (and possibly mind) of one Dr. John Malkovich.