Short answers, pulled from the story.
The phrase "dear green place" is a translation attributed to the Gaelic Glas Caomh, offered as an alternative reading of the city's name. The more etymologically established meaning of Glasgow is "green hollow," derived from the Brittonic glas (grey-green) and *cöü (hollow). Both translations are widely cited, and "the dear green place" has remained an affectionate way of referring to the city.
Glasgow is traditionally credited to the Christian missionary Saint Mungo, also known as Saint Kentigern, who established a church on the Molendinar Burn around 540 CE at the site where Glasgow Cathedral now stands. A community grew around him and took the name Glasgu. The name appears in written records for the first time in 1116.
Glasgow merchants dealt in slave-produced cash crops including sugar, tobacco, and cotton. From 1717 to 1766, Scottish slave ships operating mainly out of the satellite ports of Greenock and Port Glasgow transported approximately 3,000 enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas. By the late 18th century, more than half of the British tobacco trade was concentrated on the River Clyde.
Red Clydeside refers to the period of intense labour militancy centred on Glasgow, particularly after World War One. A mass demonstration in George Square on the 31st of January 1919 ended in violence, the Riot Act was read, and 10,000 troops were deployed at the request of the Sheriff of Lanarkshire. Industrial action in the shipyards gave the movement its name.
Glasgow was designated European Capital of Culture in 1990. The title capped a decade of cultural reinvention that included the launch of the "Glasgow's miles better" campaign in 1983, the opening of the Burrell Collection in 1983, and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in 1985.
The Glasgow City Council area recorded a population of 599,650 in the 2011 census. The Greater Glasgow Urban Area holds around 985,290 people, while the wider Glasgow City Region is home to more than 1,800,000 people, representing around a third of Scotland's total population.