This article is intended to show a timeline of the history of Glasgow, Scotland, up to the present day.
500–1099 543: The 12th century Bishop Jocelyn will later claim Glasgow's monastic church was founded by Saint Kentigern, also known as Saint Mungo, in this year; he also claimed that Kentigern found at Glasgow a cemetery which Saint Ninian had hallowed 560: Jocelyn claims Mungo/Kentigern made his first bishop in this year
1100–1199 1114: Glasgow is a farming village, with a monastic church and water mill; the reach of Glasgow's bishops extends to Cumbria; the church is elevated to temporary cathedral status by young David of Strathclyde, later David I 1118: Building of a new cathedral begins 1134: The churches of Saint John and the Holy Sepulchre are in the city; the church of Saint James is dedicated 1136: The cathedral is consecrated in the presence of David I c1150: The Glasgow Fair is an eight-day event 1153: The sacking of Glasgow, and devastation of its surrounding countryside, by Somerled, Lord of Argyll. c1175/c1178: William the Lion makes Glasgow an episcopal burgh of barony, and grants Bishop Jocelyn a charterLynch 2001, p. 266 1179?-1199?: Bishop gives abbot and convent of Melrose a plot of land in Glasgow 1199: Death of Bishop JocelynForeman 2002, p. 3
1200–1299 1220s: Early trades in the town include fishermen, millers, bakers, cobblers, painters, and blacksmiths; wooden merchant's houses replace peasant huts 1240: Diocesan authorities deeply in debt to bankers from Florence; church over Saint Kentigern's grave being added 1246: Dominican order (Blackfriars) establish a church. 1258: Work on Kentigern's church complete 1274: Diocese includes Teviotdale in Dumfries 1286: Glasgow Bridge, made of timber, spans the River ClydeNaughton 2014, p. 33 1293: Saint Mary's church is in the town 1295: Saint Enoch's church is also in the town, and there is a second water mill beside the Gallowgate
1300–1399 1301: Edward I of England visits Saint Kentigern's tomb in the town. Edward forces the townspeople to make a giant wooden siege tower and supply 30 wagons to transport it to Bothwell Castle to besiege it, along with tools, iron and coal; the town has trade in salmon and herring 1320: There is a St Thomas's Church in the town, with a Florentine Dean c1330-1350: The west end of the cathedral is completed 1350: The Black Death hits the town 1380-1381: The Black Death hits Glasgow againForeman 2002, p. 12
1400–1499 c1400: Population estimate: 1,500-2,000Lynch 2001, p. 267 1410: The wooden bridge across the River Clyde is replaced by an arched stone bridge. 1431: William Elphinstone is born. He later obtained a papal bull for the University of Aberdeen in 1495, and was involved with the introduction of printing to Scotland in 1507 1450: Glasgow is a "burgh of regality"Naughton 2014, p. 21 1451: the University of Glasgow is established by bull of Pope Nicholas V, and founded by Bishop Turnbull, beside Blackfriars monastery 1453: John Stewart, Glasgow's first Provost, appointed 1460: There is a grammar school in the city; 1464: St Nicholas Hospital founded in the city 1471: Provands Lordship, Glasgow's oldest dwelling-house, is builtWilliamson, Riches and Higgs 2005, p. 624 1475: The Greyfriars (Franciscans) are granted a tenement and lands on the High Street; St Ninian's Hospital is established 1478: Other stone houses are built in Glasgow 1492: Pope Innocent VIII makes the See of Glasgow an Archbishopric – Robert Blackadder is the city's first archbishop
1500–1599 c1500: Population estimate is 2,500 – 3,000 1504: Plague hits Glasgow; the city is eleventh among Scottish burghs for taxation revenue c1510: The Bishop's Palace is extendedForeman 2002, p. 8 1516-1559: The city's craft guilds are incorporated 1518: The university becomes more active 1520: The archdiocese now includes the former diocese of Argyll 1525: James Houston founds the Tron Church 1535-1556: Glasgow pays 1.5% – 3% of total Scottish burgh taxes 1544: Siege of castle;Foreman 2002, p. 9 estimated population is 3,000 1556: Estimated population c4,500. Brewing recorded at site that will later become Wellpark Brewery 1560: The burgh of Glasgow is now represented in the Parliament of Scotland 1570: Andrew Melville rejuvenates the university 1574: Plague hits the city again c1576: The council mill is rebuilt 1579: The city's cathedral is saved from demolition by craftsmen threatening to riot 1581: Glasgow pays 66% of upper Clyde customs tax 1584: Plague 1589: Golf is played on Glasgow Green 1593: Emergence of the Presbytery of Glasgow in the new self-governing church 1594: Glasgow is now fifth in ranking of Scottish burghs, paying 4.5% of export customs
1600–1699 1600: Population estimates for the city vary between 5000 and 7500 1604: 361 craftsmen work in fourteen trades, including two surgeons and 213 merchants 1605: The Trades House and Merchants House combine to form the first town council 1610: The General Assembly approves the restoration of diocesan episcopacy in Scotland 1611: Glasgow becomes a royal burgh, with a population of about 7600 1615: John Ogilvy, a Scottish Jesuit priest, is hanged for saying Mass 1621: Glasgow pays 3%-10% of Scottish customs duties 1625: The first quay is built at Broomielaw 1626: The Tolbooth is constructed 1636: There are 120 students at the university 1638: Covenanters at the General Assembly plan to abolish bishops 1639: Glasgow the 3rd richest burgh in Scotland, one-fifth as rich as Edinburgh; Hutcheson's Hospital is founded 1641: Hutchesons' Grammar School is founded for orphan boys; 50 buildings erected in Trongate 1645: Montrose enters city, celebrates victories 1645-1646: Plague hits city 1649: Glasgow displaces Perth as Scotland's 4th trading centre; pays 6.5% of customs duties 1650: Oliver Cromwell enters Glasgow while on a campaign against the Scottish ArmyForeman 2002, p. 66 1652: Major fire makes about a thousand families homeless;Foreman 2002, p. 40 an early fire engine from Edinburgh helps put out the blaze 1655: Glasgow trades in coal, hoops, meal, oats, butter, herring, salt, paper, prunes, timber, and hides: goat, kid, and deerskins 1656: Glasgow is described as a "flourishing city", with "strong stone walls" 1659-1665: Bridgegate merchants' house is rebuilt 1660: A coal pit is reported in the Gorbals 1661: Several pits reported 1662: A post office opens 1663: Alexander Burnet is appointed archbishop 1668: Land is purchased for a new harbour – later Port Glasgow 1669: Burnet resigns the archbishopric, objects to Act of Supremacy 1670: Glasgow displaces Aberdeen and Dundee to become Scotland's second trade city 1673: Colonel Walter Whiteford opens city's first coffee house 1675: Magistrates take action against unauthorised prayer meetings 1677: Another major fire hits the city, destroying 130 shops and houses 1678: First stagecoaches run to Edinburgh 1680: The city's population is perhaps around 12,000, with 450 traders, 100 trading overseas 1688: Broomielaw Quay is reconstructed following dredging of the River Clyde 1690 Glasgow is re-chartered as a royal burgh; the city has an early Bank of Scotland branch
1700–1799 1702: the University of Glasgow has around 400 students 1706: Anti-unionists riot; Glasgow is a major smuggling port 1707: Act of UnionForeman 2002, p. 75 1710: The city's population is estimated to be 13,000; over 200 shops are open; much of the city is liable to flooding 1712: Glasgow owners own 4% of Scottish fleet, 46 vessels 1715: Glasgow Courant newspaper first publishedLynch 2001, p. 452 1718: Possible date for first Glasgow vessel to sail to America 1719: Cotton printing has begun 1720: Glasgow's estimated population is 15,000 1721-1735: James Anderson builds "Andersontown" (modern-day Anderston) village 1725: Glasgow occupied by General Wade's army; protests and street violence against liquor tax 1726: Daniel Defoe describes Glasgow as "The cleanest and best-built city in Britain"; 50 ships a year sail to America 1729: The Glasgow Journal newspaper is published 1730: The Glasgow Linen Society is formed 1735: The city's ship-owners own 67 ships 1736: The first history of Glasgow is published by John McUre 1737-1760: A new Town Hall is built west of the Tolbooth 1738: The Anderston Weavers' Society is formed 1740: Approximately 685,000 m of linen is made in Glasgow, some of which is sent to London. Hugh and Robert Tennent take over the Drygate Brewery 1740-1741: The Foulis brothers begin printing 1742: Delft pottery is manufactured in the city 1743: The Foulis brothers become printers to the university 1745: Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) enters the city with his army;Foreman 2002, p. 93 Tennents open a new brewery in Glasgow 1749: A stage coach service opens between Edinburgh and Glasgow 1750: There are five sugar refineries in the city 1751: The John Smith bookshop is established 1753: Foulis Academy is established at the university to promote art and design; turnpiking of main roads from Glasgow; the city's involvement in the tobacco trade is reflected in the naming of Virginia Street 1755: The estimated population of Glasgow is 23,500 1757: 2.2 million metres of linen are produced in the city 1760: Glasgow enjoys a wave of prosperity; there are 13 professors at Glasgow University 1762: Joseph Black discovers latent heat 1763: David Dale opens a draper's shop in the city; regular coaches run from Glasgow to Greenock 1769: Tennents brewers is now a large industry; James Watt patents his steam engine condenser 1771: The Scottish economy is boosted by trade through Glasgow 1775: Trade with America in tobacco, sugar, and cotton – the city's prosperity is at its height 1776: Adam Smith, a professor at Glasgow University, publishes Wealth of NationsLynch 2001, p. 269 1779: Mobs protest against the Catholic Relief Act 1780: The estimated population of Glasgow is 42,000; the construction of the Forth and Clyde Canal is completed 1781: Vessels of over 30 tons can now reach Broomielaw Quay 1782-1783: The Forth and Clyde Canal enables grain from London to ease famine in Glasgow 1783: Glasgow Chamber of Commerce is founded, it is the first in Britain 1785: A hot air balloonist flies from Glasgow to Hawick in the Borders; the firm of Thomsons is formed as bankers 1794: Glasgow Royal Infirmary opensForeman 2002, p. 112 1796: The Royal Technical College (which will later become The University of Strathclyde) is founded 1798: The Merchant Banking Company of Glasgow fails 1799: Demonstrations over bread prices; trade in tobacco and rum declines
1800–1899 1800: The River Clyde is 14 ft (3.1m) deep, and supports 200 wharves and jetties; there is a large Gaelic community in the cityLynch 2001, p. 268 1800: The Glasgow Police Act is passed by Parliament allowing the creation of the first modern preventative police force 1803: Dorothy Wordsworth visits Glasgow 1807: Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery opens off the high street, adjacent to the then campus of Glasgow University 1809: General Association of Operative Weavers is formed 1810-1814: Glasgow Asylum for Lunatics is built in Dobbies Loan 1813: Weavers fail in bid for fair wages 1814: Glasgow Green is Europe's first public park 1815: The Glasgow Herald is published twice-weekly 1817: Royal Botanic Institution of Glasgow founded by Thomas Hopkirk and others to establish a Glasgow Botanic Garden 1818: Gas street lights begin to be used in the cityForeman 2002, p. 79 1820: "Radical War"Lynch 2001, p. 270 1825: The University of Glasgow, still located in the High Street, has over 1200 students and about 30 professors; 10 coaches run to Edinburgh daily 1826: Glasgow City Mission, the first City Mission, is established on 1 January by David Nasmith 1827: The Argyll Arcade opens 1828: James Beaumont Neilson makes breakthrough in iron-smelting technology; a total abstinence society is formed 1832: The city benefits from increased representation under the Great Reform Bill