Radom (pronounce: Radom.ogg) is a city in central Poland with 228,695 inhabitants (2003). It is situated in the Masovian Voivodship (since 1999), previously capital of Radom Voivodship (1975-1998), 100 km south of Poland's capital, Warsaw.

It is home to the annual Radom Air Show - the greatest and most attended air show in Poland organized around September each year. "Radom" is also the popular unofficial name for a semiautomatic 9mm Parabellum pistol of Polish design (the Model 35/ViS-35) designed by Piotr Wilniewczyc and Jan Skrzypinski (hence the designation "ViS") which had been in production from 1935-45 at the national arsenal located in the city.

History

It was founded in 1340 and during the partitions of Poland it was held successively by Austria and Russia in the 19th century before returning to Poland after World War I in 1918. The main industries include leather, glass, and chemicals.

Important dates

• 8th-9th century - early mediaeval town in the valley of Mleczna River (approximately on the location of present-day Old Town)
• 2nd half of 10th century - fortified town called Piotrówka
• 1155 - first mention about Radom (Pope Paschal II bull)
• around 1300 - Old Radom gratnted with Środa Śląska rights
• 1340 - Kazimierz Wielki founds New Radom (Nowy Radom)
• 1360 - Radom granted with Magdeburg law
• 1360-1370 - Kazimierz Wielki founds St. John's Church
• 1383 - Jadwiga of Poland accepted by a Sejm held in Radom as a king of Poland
• 1401 - First union of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania signed in Radom
• 1481 - Radom becomes a de-facto capital of Poland after Casimir IV of Poland moves to Lithuania and his son, Saint Casimir to be, ruled the country in his absence from Radom
• 1489 - Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, John von Tieffen pays tribute to Casimir IV of Poland in Radom castle
• 1505 - a Sejm in Radom passes the Nihil novi constitution and Laski's Statute , the first real bill of rights of Poland
• 1564 - 1800 inhabitants, 180 houses, 14 butchers' shops, 2 baths and 2 wells
• 1613 - Radom becomes the place where the Highest Fiscal Courts are held
• 1628 - Great fire destroys the town
• 1656 - Charles X of Sweden stays in town duringThe Deluge
• 1660 - the city plundered by Sweden; after they leave the town has 395 inhabitants and 37 houses
• 1737-1756 - Kolegium Pijarów school founded
• 1763 - Fiscal Tribunal moved to Warsaw; the town has 1370 inhabitants and 137 buildings
• 1795 - After the 3rd Partition Radom is annexed by Austria
• 1817 - First lay school founded
• 1819 - Fryderyk August Schnierstein opens a tannery, the date is considered a start of towns industrialization
• 1844 - Radom becomes the capital of Radom-Kielce government
• 1867 - Creation of Radom government; the sewers are built
• 1885 - Dęblin-Dąbrowa Górnicza railway opened
• 1901 - electricity plant opened
• 1911 - Radom has 51.934 inhabitants
• 1920-1939 - Radom becomes a part of Central Industrial Area (Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy); Chemical Plant, arms and munitions factory, gas works, telephone and shoe factories are founded
• 1935 - Radom-Warsaw railway opened
• 1938 - 90.059 inhabitants
• 1939-1945 - capital of Radom district of the General Government
• January 16, 1945 - liberation
• 1948-1975 - Theatre (Teatr Dramatyczny) and an engineering school are opened.
• 1975 - the city becomes a capital of the Radom Voivodship
• June 25, 1976 - Huge workers' strike against the communist regime; the town becomes one of the main centres of anti-communist opposition in Poland
• June 4, 1991 - Pope John Paul II visits the city
• 1996 - Radomska Wyższa Szkoła Inżynierska promoted to the rank of a Radom Technical University (Politechnika Radomska)
• 1999 - Radom becomes the capital of Radom county of the Masovian Voivodship

Education

• Prywatna Wyższa Szkoła Ochrony Środowiska
• Wyższa Inżynierska Szkoła Bezpieczeństwa i Organizacji Pracy
• Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu im. Biskupa Jana Chrapka
• Wyższa Szkoła Handlowa
• Wyższa Szkoła Finansów i Bankowości

Sports

• Radomiak Radom - men's football team, promoted to 2nd league in season 2004/2005.

Famous people

• Tytus Chalubinski

Members of European Parliament (MEPs)

• Dariusz Rosati born in Radom 1946, professor of economics, ex-minister of foreign affairs and a MEP, SDPL

Politics

Radom constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Radom constituency

• Grabowska Danuta, SLD-UP
• Grabowski Dariusz, PSL
• Kopacz Ewa, PO
• Kuźmiuk Zbigniew, PSL
• Łopuszański Jan, LPR
• Łyżwińska Wanda, Samoobrona
• Tomasz Nałęcz, SLD-UP
• Suski Marek, PiS
• Wikiński Marek, SLD-UP

See also:

• Radom, Illinois,
• Geography of Poland
• Radom Department (Polish: Departament Radomski): a unit of administrative division and local government in Polish Duchy of Warsaw in years 1806-1815.