Short answers, pulled from the story.
Greater Manchester was created on the 1st of April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of the administrative counties of Cheshire, Lancashire, the West Riding of Yorkshire, and eight independent county boroughs.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is the top-tier administrative body for the county, established on the 1st of April 2011. It was the first pilot combined authority of its kind in the United Kingdom, initially consisting of ten indirectly elected members drawn from the ten metropolitan boroughs.
Labour politician Andy Burnham was elected as the inaugural Mayor of Greater Manchester on the 4th of May 2017. The mayoral role was announced by Chancellor George Osborne on the 3rd of November 2014, with powers over transport, housing, planning and policing.
Greater Manchester has a population of 2,867,800 according to the 2021 Census, making it the third most populous county in England after Greater London and the West Midlands. The Greater Manchester Built-up Area had an estimated population of 2,553,379 at the time of the 2011 census.
Black Chew Head, within the parish of Saddleworth, is the highest point in Greater Manchester at 1778 feet above sea level. It forms part of the Peak District National Park.
Common cottongrass (Eriophorum angustifolium) is the county flower of Greater Manchester, chosen through a public vote during Plantlife International's County Flowers campaign in 2002. It is a plant with fluffy white plumes native to wet hollows on high moors.