Fascinating Facts
- John Logie Baird, inventor of television, transmitted the first long distance TV pictures from a room in the Central Hotel, Glasgow.
- The Cunard Shipping Line was founded in Glasgow and that the liners Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, QE2 and the Royal Yacht Britannia were all built on the River Clyde at Clydebank.
- Greenock-born James Watt invented the separate condenser after a walk on Glasgow Green in 1765, an invention which made the steam engine economically viable.
- Paisley Museum houses the world's largest collection of Paisley Pattern shawls.
- Craignethan Castle, by Crossford, is where Mary Queen of Scots is reputed to have spent her last night of freedom.
- Charles Macintosh, inventor of the waterproof coat, lived and worked in Glasgow where, in 1824, he was responsible for the first commercial manufacture of the waterproof material.
- Granville Sharp Pattison, a Glasgow Surgeon, emigrated to the United States in 1816 and founded the Baltimore Infirmary, the country's first teaching hospital.
- Hamilton Mausoleum, which dates from the 1850s, has the longest echo of any building in Europe - 15 seconds!
- The Waverley, the world's last ocean going paddle steamer was built in 1947 by A & J Inglis on the River Clyde.
- Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the world-famous architect and designer, was born in Glasgow in 1868. His work can be seen in many locations in and around the city.
- Sir William Burrell was estimated to have spent around £20,000 a year on works of art for more than 45 years of his life.
- In 1939, Glasgow had 114 picture houses, seating in excess of 175,000; more cinema seats per head than any other city in the world. The average Glaswegian would go an incredible 51 times per year!
- Billy Connolly, the comedian and actor, was born in Partick in Glasgow in 1942.
- Robert Carlyle was originally a Glasgow house painter prior to becoming a major television and cinema actor.
- Roy Rogers and Trigger are reputed to have descended the staircase of Glasgow's Central Hotel.
- Glasgow City Chambers features a miniature version of the Statue of Liberty.
- 'Braveheart' William Wallace is reputed to have been born in the Renfrewshire village of Elderslie. He also lived in Lanark for a few years around 1297 and is commemorated by a statue on the town's St Nicholas Church.