Wadowice is a city in southern Poland, 50 kilometres southwest of Kraków with 19,200 inhabitants, situated on the Skawa river, confluence of Vistula, in the eastern part of Silesian Foothills. Wadowice is best known for being the birthplace of Karol Wojtyła Pope John Paul II; the first permanent settlement in the area of today's Wadowice was founded in the late 10th century or early 11th century. According to a local legend, the town was founded by a certain Wad or Wład, a short form for the Slavic name of Ladislaus; the town was first mentioned as Wadowicze in St. Peter penny register in the years 1325–1327. In 1327 it is mentioned in a fief registry sent from prince John I Scholastyk of Oświęcim to Bohemian king John I, Count of Luxemburg. At this time it was a trading settlement belonging to the Dukes of Silesia of the Piast Dynasty, according to some historians it was a municipality. In 1430 a great fire destroyed the town, it was soon rebuilt and granted city rights, along with a city charter and a self-government, based on the then-popular Kulm law.

The privileges, granted by Prince Kazimierz I of Oświęcim led to a period of fast reconstruction and growth. The administrative division of the region in the times of regional division was complicated. Between 1313/1317 and 1445, Wadowice belonged to the Silesian Duchy of Oświęcim and after 1445 to the Duchy of Zator. In 1482 Władysław I of Zator inherited only half of his father's lands and created a separate Duchy of Wadowice, which lasted until his death in 1493; the following year his brother and successor, Jan V of Zator abdicated. At the same time the land was subject to Bohemian overlordship, which lasted until the following year, when the Duchy was bought by the Kings of Poland and incorporated as a Silesian County; the County was incorporated into the Kraków Voivodeship in 1564. In the 16th–17th centuries Wadowice was a regional centre of crafts and trade. Among the most notable sons of the town was Marcin Wadowita, a theologian, philosopher and a deacon of the Kraków Academy, he was the founder of a hospital and a basic school in Wadowice.

However, several plagues and fires halted the prosperity and the town's growth was halted as well. In the effect of the 1st Partition of Poland, Wadowice was annexed by Austria, incorporated into the newly established Kingdom of Galicia, under direct Austrian rule, renamed Frauenstadt; the town's growth started soon afterwards. The town became a seat of since 1867 -- a county site. Small industries were developing during the 19th century. New inhabitants settled in the area, attracted by the industry, new military barracks and various administrative institutions. In addition, a new hospital and a regional court were erected in the town centre. In the last 25 years of the 19th century partial liberalisation of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy led to creation of various Polish cultural and scientific societies. After World War I and the dissolution of the monarchy, Wadowice became part of the newly-reborn Poland; the seat of a powiat remained in the town and in 1919 the inhabitants of the area formed the 12th Infantry Regiment that took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919–1920.

In 1920 Karol Wojtyła was born in Wadowice. After the Polish Defensive War of 1939, Germany occupied the area and on 26 October Wadowice was annexed by Nazi Germany. On 29 December of the same year the town was renamed to Wadowitz; the Polish intelligentsia was targeted by harsh German racial and cultural policies and hundreds of people from the area, most notably priests and artists, were murdered in mass executions. Hundreds more were expelled and resettled to the General Government in order to make place for German settlers. Between 1941 and 1943 a ghetto was established in the city; the entire local Jewish population was exterminated in the nearby Auschwitz concentration camp. In addition, the Germans set up a POW camp for Allied soldiers and a penal camp that served as a transfer camp for various German concentration camps. Despite German terror, the Home Army units were active in the area, most notably in the town itself and in the Beskid mountains to the south of it. After the war, in 1945 Wadowice retained its powiat town status and until 1975 served as a notable centre of commerce and transport in the Kraków Voivodeship.

After that the town was transferred to the newly created Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship. After the peaceful transformation of the political and economical system in Poland, most of the local industry was found inefficient and went bankrupt. However, the ecological and historical heritage of the area as well as its status as the birthplace of Pope John Paul II led to fast growth of tourism. More than 200,000 people visit Wadowice every year and this number is rising. Wadowice is today a centre for tourism and sightseeing, but a place for small industries such as the production of machines and construction materials. There is the headquarters of the biggest juice-maker of Poland and the shoe producer Badura. Days of Wadowice are held every May–June; the feast starts every 18 May to commemorate the birth of Karol Wojtyła. Museum of the Holy Father Family Home in the family home of Pope John Paul II collects objects that belonged to Karol Wojtyła and his family. Parochial church – the Virgin Mary's Offertory minor basilica–15th century, rebuilt in the 18th century.

Kościelna 4 street, an 18th-century house. Neo-Classica

Rabi ibn Ziyad al-Harithi was an Arab military leader, who served the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates. In 651, Rabi ibn Ziyad invaded the Sasanian province of Sakastan. After some time, he reached Zaliq, a border town between Kirman and Sakastan, where he forced the dehqan of the town to acknowledge Muslim authority, he did the same at the fortress of Karkuya, which had a famous fire temple, mentioned in the Tarikh-i Sistan. He continued to seize more land in the province, he thereafter besieged the capital Zrang, after a heavy battle outside the city, its governor Aparviz surrendered. When Aparviz went to Rabi ibn Ziyad to discuss about the conditions of a treaty, he saw that he was using the bodies of two dead soldiers as a chair; this horrified Aparviz, who in order to spare the inhabitants of Sakastan from the Arabs, made peace with them in return for a heavy tribute of one million dirhams, as well as 1,000 slave boys bearing 1,000 golden vessels. Rabi ibn Ziyad was appointed as the governor of the province.18 months Rabi was summoned to Basra, was replaced by Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura as governor.

In 671, Rabi was appointed as the governor of Khurasan, where he was able to expand Muslim rule in the east as far as Balkh. In 673, his son Abdallah. Shaban, M. A.. The ʿAbbāsid Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29534-3. Pourshariati, Parvaneh. Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. London and New York: I. B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-645-3. Morony, M.. "ʿARAB ii. Arab conquest of Iran". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 2. Pp. 203–210. Zarrinkub, Abd al-Husain. "The Arab conquest of Iran and its aftermath". The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 1–57. ISBN 978-0-521-20093-6. Marshak, B. I. and N. N. Negmatov. "Sogdiana." History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume III: The Crossroads of Civilizations: A. D. 250 to 750. Eds. B. A. Litvinsky, Zhang Guang-da and R. Shabani Samghabadi. Paris: UNESCO Publishing, 1996. ISBN 92-3-103211-9

The San Francisco Drag King Contest is an annual contest for drag kings held in San Francisco and founded by performer and producer, Fudgie Frottage. It is the biggest drag king contest in the world, the longest running drag king competition in the U. S; the related International Drag King Community Extravaganza is the largest drag king performance event in the world but not a contest. The 22nd annual San Francisco Drag King Contest will be held September 7, 2017 at Oasis, 298 11th Street http://www.sfdragkingcontest.com/ Contestants are judged on talent, studliness, sex appeal, humor, make-up/facial hair, fashion by celebrity judges. The contestants main requirement is that they come from the Bay Area, otherwise the organizer notes "we have gay women who identify as dykes or lesbians, we have transgender men, we have straight or bisexual women." Contestants vie for the title and a large gift packs from sponsors. In addition to various awards a sole king and a group are named as the night's winners.

The audience tends to be in the gender-bender spirit with many of the lesbian audience cross-dressed in male attire with fake facial hair. Drag kings are female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of their routine. A typical show may incorporate dancing and singing, sometimes live or lip-synching to pre-recorded tracks. Drag kings perform as exaggeratedly macho male characters, portray marginalized masculinities such as construction workers, rappers, or "fag drag," or they will impersonate male celebrities like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Tim McGraw. In 1993 The LAB produced a drag king contest at the DNA lounge hosted by Elvis Herselvis and Justin Bond, Stafford was declared the winner; the first annual S. F. Drag King contest was held in May 1994 in the SOMA district, it was a photo shoot that resulted in the city's first drag king calendar. The following summer in 1995, as a part of a weekly alternative club called Klubstitute in the San Francisco's Mission district, the Mr. Klubstitute pageant took place.

It included emcee Elvis Herselvis and the eight contestants were judges on fashion and question-and-answer. Jane Wiedlin and Gina Schock of The Go-Go's, the late Arturo Galster Justin Vivian Bond John Cameron Mitchell have appeared at S. F Drag King Contest Over the first twelve years the performances evolved from more spontaneous performances being rehearsed months in advanced and big production numbers. In 2006 supervisor Tom Ammiano and the S. F. Board of Supervisors presented a proclamation honoring the event. In 2007 then-Senator Carol Migden and The California Senate presented a proclamation for SFDKC, an event "that celebrates the diversity of genders and in appreciation of the creative performances that contribute and enrich San Francisco’s entertainment community."In Female Masculinity Judith Halberstam notes that in the 1990s most major U. S. cities have some drag king acts as part of its queer club subculture. Winners are announced for individual kings, starting in 2005 for troupes as well: 1994 - BJ 1995 and 1996 - no contests held 1997 - Cooper Lee Bombardier 1998 - Arty Fishal 1999 - Barry "Fresh" White 2000 - Electro aka “The Pop n’ Lock King” 2001 - Howie Weenis 2002 - Rusty Hips 2003 - Max Voltage 2004 - Transformers 2005 - Jay Walker, The Momma's Boys 2006 - Buck Naked, Slickk Bois 2007 - Pete Sake, The Pacmen 2008 - Papa Don Preach, Fella-Fem 2009 - Delicio del Toro, 2010 - Hamm Graham & the Wham Bamm Thank You Ma'ams 2011 - Gender Queer Society from San Jose.

2012 - Cohen Brothers. 2013 - Art Kahn. 2014 - Madd Dogg 20/20 2015 - Mason Dixon Jars 2016 - Max Manchester 2017 - El SeVan & Jota Mercury 2018 - Will X. Uly 2019 - Holden Wood Diane Torr S. F. Drag King Contest Drag king timeline 1980-2002