I've walked past the statues in George square hundreds of times, and I was vaguely aware of a couple of the historical characters they're based on, but to be honest I didn't really give them much thought - they were just background to wherever I was going (possibly a pub). However, apart from the Cenotaph, the Robert Burns and James Watt Statues, I didn't really know the rest, so it was a bit of a surprise to find out that they read a bit like history's who's whom:
Sir Walter Scott
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
Sir Robert Peel
William Gladstone
Thomas Graham (Chemist at Glasgow uni)
Thomas Campbell (poet)
Field Marshall Lord Clyde (Soldier, obviously)
Sir John Moore
James Oswald (MP from 1832)
I know that most British cities have these tableau of famous historical people, but I do find them fascinating; these are records of what the people of a city found important at one time. They wanted the present and the future to know that they respected these people, it wasn't so much the image of the person being celebrated, it was also the image (usually Victorians) wanted to present of what the implied values were of celebrating such people, because these things cost money and valuable space so political consensus would be needed. The statues are a combination of politics, fighting, poetry, and science. Just like the Victorian era, really.
