The University of Glasgow is the largest and oldest of the three universities in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1451 as a school of divinity, and was located beside Glasgow Cathedral until the 17th century, when it moved to the nearby High Street. The university expanded (both in numbers and in the range of studies) and outgrew the available space in the dense old part of the city. Consequently, in 1870, it moved to a (then greenfield) site on the Gilmorehill in the West End of the city (around three miles west of its prior location).
The main building, an example of victorian neo gothic architecture, is a major landmark and icon of the city.
Famous scholars associated with the university include Lord Kelvin, Adam Smith, James Watt, John Logie Baird, and Joseph Lister. In more recent times, the university boasts of having Europe's largest collection of life scientists.
The Veterinary School is perhaps Glasgow's most famous Faculty, having wrought the personalities of James Herriot (aka Alf Wight), Eddie Straiton ("The TV Vet"), Sir William Weipers, among many others and has the distinction of having its degree recognised not only by the UK, but also the USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, as well as most other countries in the World, an honour shared by only a handful of other institutions.