575: for the world since 1451

World-changers revisited: stories from the archives

To mark our anniversary, we are gathering and celebrating the stories of our diverse community through collections built over 575 years by our UofG Library, one of the oldest and largest in the world.

Aikitsu Tanakadate

Aikitsu Tanakadate: A Journey Across Continents and Ideas

In 1888, a young scholar from Japan stepped into UofG’s Physical Laboratory, thousands of miles from home.

Isaac Ladipo Oluwole

Isaac Ladipo Oluwole: A Legacy of Public Health and Purpose

In 1913, Isaac Ladipo Oluwole arrived in Glasgow to study Medicine, beginning a journey that would lead him to reshape health and wellbeing across Nigeria.

Ruth Pirret

Ruth Pirret: breaking barriers in science

What does it take to change the course of science? For Ruth Pirret, it began with a single step through the gates of the University of Glasgow in 1892.

Hannah Frank

Hannah Frank: a life drawn in light and shade

In 1925, a 17-year-old Glasgow student began creating haunting black and white drawings that would become her signature.

portrait of Isabella Elder

Isabella Elder: a life spent opening doors for others

In 19th century Glasgow, a quietly determined woman stepped forward with a vision for education that would outlast her lifetime.

portrait of Madge Easton Anderson

Madge Easton Anderson: the lawyer who stepped into history

In a profession which followed long established rules a young woman began to ask whether those rules still deserved to stand.

Janet Spens

Janet Spens: the scholar who carved out space for women’s voices

Janet Spens never set out to make history. She followed her love of learning wherever it led.

Delphine Parrott

Delphine Parrott: pioneering the path as the University’s first woman professor

Delphine Parrott’s appointment as the University of Glasgow’s first woman professor marked a defining moment in our history.

Marion Gilchrist

Marion Gilchrist: the doctor who built opportunity from determination

What does it take to rewrite the rules of an entire profession?

portrait of Jessie Campbell

Jessie Campbell: the visionary who opened the doors of learning

Sometimes change begins not with a grand gesture, but with someone quietly asking whether more might be possible.

Marbai Ardesir Vaki

Merbai Ardesir Vakil: a trailblazer who opened new paths across continents

When Merbai Ardesir Vakil travelled from India to train as a doctor she could not have known she would become a pioneer.