Glasgow, city, western Scotland, on the Clyde River. Glasgow is the largest city and leading industrial center of Scotland. It has an excellent harbor and modern port facilities. Major imports include petroleum, grain, and timber; exports are largely manufactured goods. The city is located near important coalfields and is a major steel-producing center. Other industries include shipbuilding and printing and the manufacture of textiles, carpets, aircraft engines, electronic equipment, chemicals, alcoholic beverages, and processed foods.

Relatively few buildings in Glasgow predate the 18th century; the most prominent of these are Saint Mungo's Cathedral (begun about 1136 and completed in the mid-15th century) and Provand's Lordship (circa 1471), the city's oldest house. Glasgow is an educational center; the University of Glasgow (1451), the University of Strathclyde (1796), the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (1847), Glasgow School of Art (1845), and several technical colleges are located here. The extensive collections of the Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum are among the finest in Britain. Also of note in the city are the Hunterian Museum (1807), the botanic gardens, and a zoo.

Glasgow grew around a church built in the mid-6th century by Saint Kentigern (also called Saint Mungo), apostle to the Scots. In 1116 the town's church was rebuilt for the reconstituted episcopal see of Glasgow. The great commercial growth of the community dates from the union of Scotland with England in 1707. Glasgow obtained a large share of the American commerce and soon became a center of the tobacco trade. The river was dredged to accommodate seagoing vessels. The tobacco trade ceased as a result of the American Revolution and was subsequently supplanted by cotton textile manufacture and the sugar trade with the West Indies. In the early 19th century, Glasgow began its growth as a major iron founding and shipbuilding center. During World War II (1939-1945) the city suffered some damage from German bombing. Slum clearance and urban redevelopment projects have been undertaken since the war. In 1974 Glasgow became the administrative center of the Strathclyde Region. In the 1996 reorganization of local government in Scotland, Glasgow became a unitary authority. Population (2001 estimate) 578,700.