a citizen of San Francisco, California, who proclaims himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States" in 1859
1818 CE
to 1880 CE
Joshua Abraham Norton (February 4, 1818 – January 8, 1880), known as Emperor Norton, is a citizen of San Francisco, California, who proclaimed himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States" in 1859.
He later assumes the secondary title of "Protector of Mexico".
Norton was born in England but spent most of his early life in South Africa.
He had sailed west after the death of his mother in 1846 and his father in 1848, arriving in San Francisco possibly in November 1849.
Norton initially makes a living as a businessman, but he loses his fortune investing in Peruvian rice to sell in China due to a Chinese rice shortage.
He buys rice at twelve cents per pound from Peruvian ships, but more Peruvian ships arrive in port, which cause the price to drop sharply to four cents.
He then loses a lawsuit in which he tried to void his rice contract, and his public prominence fade.
He re-emerges in September 1859, laying claim to the position of Emperor of the United States.
Though Norton receives many favors from the city, merchants also capitalizes on his notoriety by selling souvenirs bearing his name. “San Francisco lived off the Emperor Norton,” Norton’s biographer William Drury wrote, “not Norton off San Francisco.”
Norton has no formal political power; nevertheless, he is treated deferentially in San Francisco, and currency issued in his name is honored in the establishments that he frequented.
Some considere him insane or eccentric, but citizens of San Francisco celebrate his imperial presence and his proclamations, such as his order that the United States Congress be dissolved by force and his numerous decrees calling for the construction of a bridge and tunnel crossing San Francisco Bay to connect San Francisco with Oakland.
On January 8, 1880, Norton collapses at the corner of California and Dupont (now Grant) streets and dies before he can be given medical treatment.
Upwards of ten thousand people line the streets of San Francisco to pay him homage at his funeral.
Norton will be immortalized as the basis of characters in the literature of Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christopher Moore, Morris and René Goscinny, Selma Lagerlöf, and Neil Gaiman.
